This is a beautiful slop bowl made around 1845 by Minton. It is decorated with a beautiful apricot orange ground and rich gilding, and four finely painted flower arrangements in the style of Joseph Bancroft. The bowl is shaped in a beautiful diapered way.
A slop bowl used to form part of a tea service and served to collect the "slop"; this was a time before the tea strainer had been invented and people used to have some tea leaves (slop) left behind in their cup. Before helping themselves to a refill, they would pour out the slop into the slop bowl. Nowadays these bowls are fantastic to serve fruit or muffins, or to collect your keys and other bits and pieces.
Minton was one of the pioneers of English china production alongside other great potters such as Spode, Davenport, Ridgway, Coalport and others. They were located in Staffordshire and were known specifically for their wonderfully fine white bone china and bright colours; there is a colour called "Minton Blue" which is a fresh azure blue that was very fashionable during the Victorian era. Throughout the different phases of its existence, the factory made top quality creamware, porcelain, majolica and ultimately the finest parian porcelain. Minton excelled in their decorations and gilt work; these were often executed by artists who came from the Sèvres factory in France and brought their skills with them.
Joseph Bancroft had started his career as a porcelain painter at the famous Derby factory, then worked in the London decoration studios for a while, and finally settled in Staffordshire where he became one of Minton's prime flower painters in 1831. He worked there until at least 1858, when he was well into his sixties. Bancroft's flowers are recognisable as closely bunched, delicate and meticulous, and several painters who worked under him closely copied his style.
The bowl is marked with the pattern number 7424, which dates it to about 1845.
CONDITION REPORT In perfect antique condition without any damage, repairs or crazing and only very minimal wear, as visible in the pictures.
Antique British porcelain is never perfect. Kilns were fired on coal in the 1800s, and this meant that china from that period can have some firing specks from flying particles. British makers were also known for their experimentation, and sometimes this resulted in technically imperfect results. Due to the shrinkage in the kiln, items can have small firing lines or develop crazing over time, which should not be seen as damage but as an imperfection of the maker's recipes, probably unknown at the time of making. Items have often been used for many years and can have normal signs of wear, and gilt can have signs of slight disintegration even if never handled. I will reflect any damage, repairs, obvious stress marks, crazing or heavy wear in the item description but some minor scratches, nicks, stains and gilt disintegration can be normal for vintage items and need to be taken into account.
There is widespread confusion on the internet about the difference between chips and nicks, or hairlines and cracks. I will reflect any damage as truthfully as I can, i.e. a nick is a tiny bit of damage smaller than 1mm and a chip is something you can easily see with the eye; a glazing line is a break in the glazing only; hairline is extremely tight and/or superficial and not picked up by the finger; and a crack is obvious both to the eye and the finger. Etcetera - I try to be as accurate as I can and please feel free to ask questions or request more detailed pictures!
DIMENSIONS 17cm (6.75") diameter, 8cm (3.25") high.
Minton slop bowl, apricot ground, gilt and flowers in style J Bancroft, ca 1845
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We always aim to have happy customers so if you have an issue with or questions about your item, please contact us and we will do anything we can to resolve the issue with you!
