Antique English Blue and White Parian Ware Jug with Metal Lid

At 13.5 cm tall and 12 cm wide, this antique English Parian ware jug with its raised figural scene depicting a spinning wheel motif, fitted metal lid engraved with the initials J H, and blue and white body has the rarity and personal history of a piece that has passed through many hands and carries the marks of a specific life, the engraved initials on the lid connecting the object to an individual owner in a way that anonymous pieces cannot.

Made in England in the antique period, this jug is an example of Parian ware, a fine-grained unglazed porcelain developed in the 1840s by Copeland and Garrett and named for its resemblance to Parian marble. Parian ware, with its smooth, slightly translucent white surface, was used extensively in the Victorian period for decorative figures, busts, and relief-decorated wares, and the blue and white version of the material, in which the body is tinted blue to provide a ground for the white raised decoration, is among the rarer and more sought-after forms of Parian production. The raised figural scene on this jug, depicting a spinning wheel motif, is rendered with the precision and delicacy that the Parian material allows, and the fitted metal lid, engraved with the initials J H, gives the piece a personal history that adds to its interest and rarity. The piece is in good condition with age-appropriate wear consistent with its antique status.

• Maker: Unknown, England
• Material: Parian ware with fitted metal lid
• Dimensions: 13.5 cm (H) x 12 cm (W)
• Condition: Good
• Features: Raised figural spinning wheel scene, blue and white Parian body, engraved metal lid (initials J H)
• Period: Antique
• SKU: SKU-00182

A rare and distinguished antique for the serious collector of English blue and white ceramics or Victorian Parian ware. Pairs naturally with the blue and white majolica-style relief floral jug and the wider Blues and Whites collection.