A large and rare armorial Bow mug c.1750-55,...

A large and rare armorial Bow mug c.1750-55, the bell-shaped form painted with the arms of the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors, comprising a shield containing a lion above three fur-lined tents, flanked by two camels above the motto ~Concordia Parva Res Crescent~ (In Harmony Small Things Grow), the sides finely painted with single flower sprigs, the rim with a band of gilt flowerheads on an iron red foliate border, the base broken out and restuck, 15.5cm. Provenance: the Watney Collection. Exhibited: English Ceramics Circle, Armorials, 2008. The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors ranks sixth and seventh (on alternate years) in the Great Twelve City Livery Companies. It was founded prior to 1300 and first incorporated under a Royal Charter in 1327. Its base is the Merchant Taylor~s Hall between Threadneedle Street and Cornhill, a site it has occupied since at least 1347. Whilst initially a company for the tailoring profession, the company exists today as primarily a philanthropic association with links to a number of schools, colleges and alms houses. Surprisingly, given its location and strong trade links, there is little tradition of armorial decoration on Bow porcelain.