Royal Worcester Porcelain Candy Box and Cover, Reticulated by George Owen, 1909

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Royal Worcester Porcelain Candy Box and Cover, Reticulated by George Owen, 1909

About the Item

This is an important and sublimely made candy box and cover created by George Owen at Royal Worcester in the year 1909. The box is delicately reticulated (pierced), stands on three masked celadon feet and has very fine raised gilt patterns. The original Worcester factory was founded in the mid-18th century and belongs to the group of famous pioneering potteries in Britain. It went through various changes and take overs, and in the mid-19th century it merged with Chamberlains and Grainger, both earlier split-offs, taking the new name "Royal Worcester". The pottery distinguished itself with its extremely high quality of artwork, hiring the best artists and always coming up with very vivid designs full of flowers, birds and fruits. It was in operation until the early 21st century but eventually succumbed to the changing times. George Owen was a modeller with a truly unique skill of reticulating (piercing) extremely fine decorative pieces. While there were other modellers with this skill, no one was able to work to Owen's standard and his pieces stand out in perfection, detail and beauty. Owen worked behind locked doors and never allowed anyone to see how he created his "ivory reticulated" pieces as they were called - he would even put away his tools when disturbed, lest anyone would discover his method. One thing that made Owen unrivalled at his skill was the fact that he was ambidextrous, i.e. he could work right-handed as well as left-handed with the same precision, allowing him to change hands depending on which side of a vase he was working on and applying equal pressure either way. Owen had his vases cast especially thinly by his son, however even his son was not allowed to watch him work and the piercing took place behind a locked door. Owen's pieces were incredibly expensive to make; the slightest lapse of concentration could lead to the knife slipping or the item drying out too much, which would ruin it. Then during firing in the kiln anything could go wrong and one could never be sure whether these very fragile pieces would come out broken or sagged. Each piece would take many months to create, often with intermittant periods of having to slowly be brought to the correct degree of wetness in a "wet box". Yet Owen's skills saw Royal Worcester through a very difficult period as they attracted much-needed attention at trade shows and created a new fashion among the wealthy elites. This little candy box is ivory-white with very fine raised gilt decorations on both the walls and the lid. It is reticulated all the way through: the walls as well as the lid. The box stands on three celadon legs with masks, and there is a circle of celadon porcelain jewels on the lid. The box is marked with the beige Royal Worcester mark with a date mark for 1909, shape number 1558, and the hand-engraved signature "G. Owen". Only George Owen was allowed to apply this signature so we can be sure this candy box is genuine. Condition report: This box and its lid are in absolutely perfect condition. 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. Dimensions: 9cm (3.5") diameter, 7cm (2.5") high.

Creator:
George Owen (Artist),Royal Worcester (Maker)
Dimensions:
Height: 2.5 in (6.35 cm)Diameter: 3.5 in (8.89 cm)Length: 2.5 in (6.35 cm)
Sold As:
Set of 2
Style:
Edwardian (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Porcelain,Hand-Crafted
Place of Origin:
England
Period:
1900-1909
Date of Manufacture:
1909
Condition:
In absolutely perfect condition.
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: LT-RW151stDibs: LU4805121474792