English Historical Blue China remains an often sought commodity by porcelain collectors who love the architectural, historical, and country scenes replicated on articles in various other popular tableware forms. Blue on white porcelain was then, and has remained the most popular coloration. Most unusual is that our maker Andrew Stevenson moved to New York in the early 19th century to open a retail shop and specifically sell his wares to the American market from his factory located in Cobridge England.
We are pleased to offer what is certainly one of the rarest forms in historical blue China. This cooler or cistern marked by the maker A Stevenson of Cobridge (1816-1827, d. 1855) is done in the form of a Chinese garden seat of the late 18th or early 19th century. English makers took the Chinese garden seat form and copied it with slight modification into a cistern .
For example, pictured here is an original form, and as far as we know, the only example of which we are aware. This octagonal form pictures architectural examples in country scenes including figures and animals. The decorations are at both top and bottom rims with foliated borders, all done in the English transfer method. Although we have not yet established the name of the piece shown here, Stevenson reportedly used as many as 22 different American images for their blue on white transfer China
For a lengthy history of the Stevenson family makers of Cobridge and A Stevenson who moved to New York City and established a retail shop there see this link : https://www.
We can find no other examples of this original form pictured in any of our books on porcelain or elsewhere. This piece benefits from a clear and unusually large printed Mark on the bottom by the maker A.Stevenson of Cobridge, England.
Height 20″ width 16 1/2″ (with handle).$1700