A Lund's Bristol or early Worcester high-footed sauceboat, circa 1751-52
Of generous size with a pronounced lip and undulating rim, the handle with a leaf-moulded thumbrest picked out in green, the body embossed with cornucopias of flowers and fruit forming festoons hung from ribbon bows, a shell motif and a curious fish, the relief moulding picked out in enamel colours, further drapery festoons embossed and painted around the pedestal foot, the interior painted with flowering plants around the border and within the base, the rim edged with a brown line, 22cm long
Footnotes:
Much has been written about an important group of sauceboats made both in Bristol and in Worcester during the first year or two of the factory's production. Some examples are marked 'Bristol' in relief and these correspond to the items described by Dr Pococke when he visited Lund's Bristol factory and noted 'beautiful white sauceboats adorned with reliefs of festoons' selling for 16 shillings a pair.

Sauceboats moulded with bows and floral garlands occur with two very different handle forms. A few have remained 'in the white', although most have the moulded decoration picked out in enamel colours. It is difficult to determine where the enamelling was carried out. Some are believed to have been manufactured at Bristol with the enamelling added slightly later, perhaps at Worcester or in London. Others may have been made and decorated at Worcester using moulds brought up the River Severn from Bristol.

Most recently Ray Jones has attempted a classification of different Lund's Bristol and early Worcester sauceboat types in his book, The Origins of Worcester Porcelain (2018), pp.376-8. He observes that none of the festooned boats with the present handle form are known with an embossed Bristol mark. An example very similar to the present lot was in the R David Butti Collection, sold by Bonhams on 10 May 2006, lot 1. This is illustrated by Nicholas Panes, British Porcelain Sauceboats (2009), fig.174 where the author suggests this is London decoration on Lund's Bristol porcelain. Another on loan to Bristol Museum and Art Gallery is illustrated by Simon Spero, The A J Smith Collection (2006), fig.44 with an attribution to very early Worcester. Other similar sauceboats are in the Klepser Collection, the H Rissik Marshall Collection and in the Museum of Royal Worcester.