A Trifle From Lowestoft Ink Well c1790-95

A very rare Lowestoft soft paste porcelain ink well decorated in underglaze blue c1790-95.

The ink well measures 7.9cm in diameter across the base and stands 7.4cm high.

It is in great condition with only two chips to the foot rim. No cracks or restoration.

Unmarked.

The Lowestoft ‘Trifles’ were made as gifts from Lowestoft and other local towns and villages. All are inscribed by the same hand, likely to have been that of Robert Allen, see Geoffrey Godden, Lowestoft Porcelains (1985), pp.146-7. Most are painted in coloured enamels and only a small number are recorded in underglaze blue. The slightly waisted cylindrical form appears to be the last in the progression of shapes of Lowestoft inkwells, see Sheenah Smith, Lowestoft in the Norwich Castle Museum, Vol.1 (1975), pp.134-5. A ‘Trifle’ inkwell of the same form also inscribed in blue from the Rev R C Wheeler Collection, and another from the Henry Levine Collection is illustrated by Godden (1985), p.181, pl.225. Compare also to the toy teapot and cover from the Godden Reference Collection sold by Bonhams on 30 June 2010.