Tin glazed hand-painted Porringer bowl, ca.1680-1720

This is another early piece being offered, it is a tin-glazed porringer bowl. It measures 7” across between the two small handles and the top of the bowl has a diameter of 4 ¾”, and it stands 2 ¾” high. It has an absolute beautiful design of hand-painted blue and gold colors.

Bowls small enough to be cradled in the hand were commonly used by the general population for eating or drinking. In the early 17th century there was no established custom of using plates, knives and forks as we know them. Even wooden plates and drinking vessels (now almost entirely disappeared) were still in common use.

Trade between England and The Netherlands was thriving during this period, at least until the Dutch Wars towards the end of the 17th century. After potters established themselves in London in the early 17th century, the import of tin-glazed earthenware rapidly declined.

There was, however, no existing native English slipware tradition to compete with these little bowls with their crudely slip-trailed  designs. Demand continued therefore until the technique was taken up and refined by the potters of Staffordshire in the mid-17th century.

Tin-glazed earthenware porringer bowls was considered utility tableware, widely produced in the Netherlands and the British Isles during the late 17th and early 18th centuries (often broadly categorized under the umbrella term Delftware.

Like I said, this bowl has beautiful artwork and there are no cracks. It does have a few tiny chips around the rim, but this is expected for being over 250 years old. There are shards of these bowls recovered at Revolutionary War sites (see pictures).

With the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding this year, interest in the Revolutionary War and its relics are significantly increasing. This renewed enthusiasm is driving the demand for virtually all Revolutionary War artifacts, further contributing to their scarcity and rising prices.