Sauceboat

Art Historical Context

This elegant sauceboat, crafted around 1770 by the Bow Porcelain Factory in London, exemplifies the refined tableware produced during Britain’s early industrial porcelain era. Made of soft-paste porcelain—a material developed in England as an affordable alternative to costly imported Chinese hard-paste—the piece measures just over eight inches long, suggesting it was designed for intimate dining settings. Its delicate form reflects the factory’s reputation for accessible luxury items that brought continental elegance to British households. The surface is adorned with lively motifs of birds, i...

About the Artist

Bow Porcelain Factory · 1747–1776

The Bow Porcelain Factory, established around 1747 in East London near Bow and relocated by 1749 to "New Canton" east of the River Lea, emerged as one of England's pioneering soft-paste porcelain manufacturers, rivaling the Chelsea factory. Founded by merchant Edward Heylyn and Irish painter Thomas Frye, who secured key patents in 1744 and 1748–49 for using Cherokee kaolin and bone ash, the factor...