This piece came to my attention some time ago and i've been meaning to share it with you. It's highly unusual for two reasons; the first is the mark of Powell & Bishop in this oval format. I have never seen this mark before and it's not listed in any of the pottery factory mark books I own or even Goddens; the second reason is the plate's subject matter: the matyrdom of Thomas Thomkins, a Protestant, at the hands of Catholic Bishop Bonner. What a peculiar thing and I suspect, really quite rare.
not one of mine, but this Powell & Bishop dish and cover is simply divine. The motifs of bees would suggest that it's for honey, but how? I suppose you could be raw honey comb inside, but anything liquid would not be contained under a dome like this. I would therefore suggest that this would have been part of a table setting which continued the motifs of bees on other pieces, so in this example, they are just decorative and not indicative of its function. So, perhaps it's for butter, muffins, or cheese? It's hard to tell as i don't have its dimensions and to be perfectly honest, i can't remember where i got the picture from (probably an auction catalogue from somewhere) . If you've got a suggestion... answers on a postcard please.
AMERICA, I am so jealous! This wonderful jug and bowl wash set, in a pattern called Wilton, has come up for sale on Ebay, but sadly it is not available to UK bidders. I can only suggest that if you are a Bisto collector, snap it up because apart from a couple of minor condition issues, it's a stunning piece. I have in my collection a couple of jugs of this shape, and a wash basin in the same rectangular trough shape, but not a set and nothing in this pattern. I'm not normally a fan of the 'cloud' type of gilding but i really love this design. In spite of not being able to bid, I shall be following this auction with interest to see how much it sells for. If the winning bidder happens to follow this blog, please do send me a pic of this piece when you receive it as I'd love to see how you end up displaying it, or even using it????? I'm GREEEEEEEEEENNNNN
