London Delftware Patriotic Bowl
London, circa 1755 - Diameter: 10 inches
 
A London delftware bowl attributed to the Lambeth workshop of William or Abigail Griffith, the interior painted in cobalt blue with the inscription “Success To the British Arms” within a foliate cartouche, the exterior decorated in blue and yellow with a chinoiserie waterscape and yellow-highlighted rim. Produced during the French and Indian War, the bowl reflects mid-eighteenth-century expressions of British military loyalty and imperial identity shared across Britain and its American colonies.
 
Patriotic wares of this type celebrated Britain’s imperial triumphs during the conflict, victories that secured Britain’s dominance in North America but whose political and financial consequences would, within a generation, contribute to the colonial tensions that gave rise to the American Revolution.
 
Condition: Minor chips to footrim; slight edge roughness. No restoration.