This is a striking piece of Victorian Mason’s ironstone dating 1840-1850. It would originally have been paired with a pitcher as part of a bedroom washing set. Pretty scarce – I’ve seen plenty of washing sets but none in Mason’s. You’ll go a long time before you see another of these.

The pottery mark on the base was used by George Miles Mason and Charles James Mason, both of whom died in the 1850s. I don’t know the name of the design but it appears to be an early version of the popular ‘Bible” pattern. The oranges and blues are hand painted and still have strong colouring. There is some fading on one section of the rim colour although this was always only an apricot shade, not full orange.

Being very large and very old, this is not perfect. There is a hairline which circles about three-quarters of the base. It’s visible on the underside but is extremely hard to see from the top, even with magnifying glasses on. So I don’t think it is deep. The basin still gives a ‘ping’ if you flick it with your finger.

There is mild crazing to the central piece of the underside. The photos make this look much worse than it is! Regardless, you only see if you flip it over.

Dia: 41 cm. Height: 13 cm

Collection available in Wellington city and also from Invercargill (if you don’t mind waiting 2-3 weeks).

Otherwise, it’s quite heavy – I’d recommend collecting if you can and we are quite happy to hold for three-four months to facilitate this as long as payment is made following the auction. However we will courier if need be.