Antique Coalport Porcelain Footed Comport with Hand-Painted Sheep Scene, 1870

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A finely executed rural vignette centres this footed porcelain comport, depicting a young harvester or shepherdess carrying a large sheaf … Read more A finely executed rural vignette centres this footed porcelain comport, depicting a young harvester or shepherdess carrying a large sheaf on her back with a curved sickle hook in hand. Wearing a pink bodice, vivid blue skirt, and white head covering, she stands behind a small flock of sheep and rams displaying varied fleece textures, alongside a watchful dog alert on a grassy rise. The scene is finished in soft polychrome enamels beneath a pale, washed evening sky. The shaped, scalloped rim is pierced with geometric reticulated apertures that encircle the central well. Each pierced section sits within an outer border of deep cobalt blue enamel ground, overlaid with ornate raised gold foliate scrolls and stylised floral sprays. Fine gilded bands and delicate punctate tooling accent the inner moulded cavetto edge. The shallow dish is raised on an integral pedestal foot featuring matching pierced fretwork and cobalt-and-gilt decoration around its flared base. The hollow underside reveals the glazed white porcelain construction and displays the hand-painted factory pattern number 7/969 neatly penned in gilt enamel. Produced by the Coalport porcelain manufactory in Shropshire around 1870, the comport was conceived as part of an elaborate dessert service or as a freestanding cabinet display piece. Measuring approximately 23.5 cm in diameter, it exemplifies late Victorian luxury bone china, combining skilled pierced mould work with meticulous landscape and animal miniature painting. See less