AN ENGLISH DELFTWARE 'BLEU PERSAN' PORRINGER CIRCA 1680 |

probably London, of circular form applied with a loop handle, painted in white around the exterior and in the center of the interior with a scene of a seated oriental figure among foliage and rockwork, the interior of the rim and handle further decorated with a narrow border.

Jonathan Horne, London, November, 1986
Vogel Collection no. 464

The piece overall is in good appearance. At 11 o'clock there is a vertical hairline crack which extends to the edge of the well and extends tin both directions around upper edge of footrim slightly. Minor colour fill along this. Some glaze wear to interior consistent with use. Glaze loss to handle knop and very minor glaze nibbles to rim.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

In the 17th and 18th centuries such bowls were used for serving spoonmeats or pottages, a semi-liquid food eaten with a spoon. The French traveler Henri Misson in 1700 described the form's use in England, writing "When they have boil'd meat, there is sometimes one of the company that will have the broth; this is a kind of soup with a little oatmeal in it, and some leaves of thyme or sage.... They bring up this in as many porringers as there are people that desire it; those that please crumble a little bread into it, and this makes a kind of pottage", quoted from Amanda E. Lange, Delftware at Historic Deerfield, 1600-1800, Deerfield, 2001 p. 89.

The form was also produced in pewter and silver and may have served a dual purpose as a bleeding bowl. The inventory of the Pickleherring pottery lists 7,748 porringers, the second largest group of objects after apothecary wares, as referenced by Michael Archer, Delftware, The Tin-glazed Earthenware of the British Isles, London, 1997, p. 280.

Michael Archer illustrates a bleu persan porringer splashed in white in Delftware in the Fitzwilliam Museum, London, 2013, p. 230, F.2, where the author notes on p. 281 that an almost entire example was excavated in Lambeth. A very similar bleu persan porringer painted in white with a Chinoiserie figure was in the F. H. Garner collection, sold, Sotheby's, London, March 2, 1965, lot 180.