Swansea Pearlware Botanical Sauce Tureen c.1810

A lovely Swansea pearlware sauce or cream tureen finely painted in enamel with botanical specimens in the style of Thomas Pardoe, c.1810. The base has "Venus's Looking Glass" on one side and "Purple Headed Garlick" on the other. The cover had "Tree Flax" and "Peruvian Twin Sole". The rims are edged in brown. Shaped side handles and scrolled handle to the cover all picked out in brown enamel. Specimens named on the reverse of tureen and cover in red script.

Provenance: The tureen has an exhibition sticker for the Sotheby's "The Glory Of The Garden" exhibition, a loan exhibition held in association with The Royal Horticultural Society, held between 2 and 28 January 1987.

It measures 19cm (7 1/2") long, 10.8cm (4 1/4") wide and 14.2cm (5 5/8") high with cover on (8.2cm (3 1/4") height of tureen alone).

Condition is very good: there are a few small chips to the vertical flange inside the cover and a further couple of very small chips and fleabites on the underside of the rim of the tureen. A bit of crazing to the shoulders of the tureen. Very light surface wear, the enamel is in excellent condition, really just some expected light wear to the cover knop.