Tis strange but true;
for truth is always strangeStranger than fiction.
Lord Byron, Don Juan, 1823
Now and again one comes upon pots with strange tales to tell. A pearlware
loving cup made for John and Lydia Vickers in 1787 is such an example (4).
The Picasso-like figure on the back appears to resemble a female space alien
whose flying saucer has landed in a swamp. It turns out, however, that this
is a copy in pearlware of an earlier Longton Hall porcelain design known to
collectors as the wind-swept pattern (3).
The Bow porcelain tea bowl (2), decorated in overglaze enamels and made for
Anne Target in 1754, is distinguished by its bizarre recent history. A friend
of the Noël Humes discovered it being used ignobly as an ashtray in Williamsburg
in 1958. Sometime later, collector Clifford Larson acquired a matching Anne
Target 1754 milk jug in a mid-western antique shop. He expressed the
hope that one day the two pieces would be reunited (1). Thanks to Dr. Larsons
widow, his wish has now been fulfilled.
1.
Milk pitcher, porcelain. Inscribed Anne Target 1754. Bow, 1754. Lent by the
Chipstone Foundation, 2001.39.
2.
Tea bowl, porcelain. Inscribed Anne Target 1754. Bow, 1754. Lent by the Chipstone
Foundation, NH2001.45, gift of Carol and Ivor Noël Hume.
3.
Sauce boat, porcelain. Longton Hall, ca. 17501760. Lent by the Chipstone
Foundation, 2000.55.
4. Loving cup, pearlware. Inscribed John & Lydia
Vickers 1787. Stafordshire or Leeds, 1787.