A very rare Worcester small vase circa 1754

lobe-moulded, decorated in kakiemon style with a ho-ho bird perched on a pierced rock with trailing flower sprays,

Albert Amor 1981; Worcester Porcelain, The First Decade 1751-1761, no. 12

There are some very short minor firing flaws to the neck rim
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This design, after a Japanese original, is often referred to as the 'Sir Joshua Reynolds' pattern as the artist is thought to have owned a service of this type.  It is found on rare pieces of Worcester and Chelsea porcelain in the early 1750s (for a Chelsea beaker of c. 1752, see Albert Amor catalogue, Autumn Exhibition 2001, no. 13).  It is found again around 1770 on plates and teawares: for two plates of c. 1775 see The Crane Collection, sold by Bonhams, 31st March 2010, lot 234.