Lowestoft porcelain bowl basin

The Lowestoft porcelain factory was a successful concern in the thriving Suffolk coastal town for the last four decades of the 18th century. Specialising in domestic wares in ‘soft-paste’ porcelain for the middle-class East Anglian market, Lowestoft prospered until competition from Staffordshire earthenware and newer and more central porcelain factories began to bite. Norwich Castle Museum has an extensive and comprehensive collection of Lowestoft porcelain, including many fine examples, as with this bottle, or ewer, and basin set from 1764. It is painted in underglaze blue, probably by Richard Phillips, with rare motifs, suggesting a limited run. The bottle features important Lowestoft landmarks of the day, St. Margaret’s Church, the two lighthouses, the North artillery battery and sailing ships. The basin depicts these along with the Corn Cross and, on the outside, a Chinese river scene.