Commemorative Loving Cup, I. Worrall 1790

Item Number: J64
Shape Type: Loving Cup
Pattern Name: Conversation
Date: c. 1790
Dimensions:  Height: 5.5 in
Maker: Unknown
Description:
A rare dated earthenware commemorative loving cup printed underglaze in blue with a line-engraved Conversation pattern with overglaze enameling in rust red. The turned base and the cup’s rim have been decoratively enameled in the same rust color. The conversation pattern is on one side of the cup and, on the other, is an oval cameo surrounded by two floral sprays. The border is of geometric motifs with oriental symbols. The name “I Worrall” and the date “1790” along with a leaf sprig have been hand painted in the oval. The cup is unmarked but the pattern is very similar to an early version of the Conversation pattern made by Leeds. This pattern does not have the little willow tree in the upper left part of the plate as does another version marked Leeds.  The conversation takes place on the bridge as it did on the other Leeds variation. This item was featured in Extraordinary British Transferware, 1780-1840, by R & R Halliday, p. 232, Schiffer Publishing , 2012, and in Chinoiserie: Printed British Ceramics in the Chinese Style, 1750-1900, by Richard Halliday and Loren L. Zeller, Gomer Press, 2018.