An important Derbyshire tureen and cover attributed to Cockpit Hill, circa 1770-75
Of oval form raised on three paw feet with comical lion mask terminals, applied with entwined handles and finial and moulded with gadroon rims, printed in blue with flower sprays and butterflies, the interior with the 'Fence' pattern and further floral sprays, 30cm wide including handles (2)
Footnotes:
Provenance
Ernest Allman Collection, Sotheby's, 12 January 1965, lot 109
Norman Stretton Collection, Phillips, 14 September 1994, lot 149
Geoffrey Godden Collection, Bonhams, 30 June 2010, lot 15

This celebrated tureen has been widely illustrated and discussed in ceramic literature, most recently by Geoffrey Godden, English Blue and White Porcelain (2004), pls.268-9 and col. pl.55, and in Bonhams sale catalogue of the Godden Collection. The cover bears so-called 'patch marks' and the printed floral garlands relate to some Duesbury Derby porcelain, but otherwise it bears little resemblance to conventional Derby porcelain from the Nottingham Road factory. Based on contemporary advertisements, an attribution to the Cockpit Hill Pottery in Derby seems most likely.