AN ENGLISH BROWN STONEWARE DATED TANKARD 1742 |

probably London, of cylindrical form with a grooved strap handle, sprigged with a rectangular panel molded with a "Midnight Modern Conversation" flanked on either side by a tree and a cottage above a continuous hunt scene, incised in script 'Robert' 'Holloway' and dated 1742, with a spreading foot.

Jonathan Horne, London, October, 2003, bearing label
Vogel Collection no. 735

In overall good appearance there is a faint short hairline crack to rim. Minor glaze nibbling and small chips 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.

Dated tankards sprigged with the Midnight Modern Conversation include one inscribed 'Dan^'il, att Dyas Hall' (sic) above the date '17=38', sold, Sotheby's, London, January 8, 1974, lot 41; one with the arms of the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths, dated 1752, sold, Sotheby's, London, October 22, 1974, lot 152; and another impressed 'WILLIAM/ HEATH/ 1764', formerly in the Cecil Baring and Revelstoke Collections, sold, Sotheby's, London, April 28, 1981, lot 37. The combined characteristics of a clockwise hunt and punch party scene place this tankard as a product of 'Factory C', as categorized by Adrian Oswald et al., English Brown Stoneware 1670-1900, London, 1982, appendix II, where the authors note a likely attribution of London but that some similar sprigging appears on mugs of Bristol manufacture.