This exceptional box stands apart from other known examples of English enamel in terms of quality, scale and richness of decoration.

The sides are formed from eight finely painted bouquets of flowers, some ribboned, some loose with butterflies and insects in flight. The slightly domed cover has a long rectangular plaque painted after Hubert-François Gravelot’s (1699-1773) ‘A Game of Quadrille’ in a rich palette of enamels. The canted shoulders with eight narrow plaques of Chinese fretwork in gold on a black ground.

‘A Game of Quadrille’ was one of the paintings that Gravelot designed for Francis Hayman for a series of about fifty paintings made to decorate the ‘Supper Boxes’ at the Vauxhall Gardens pleasure ground.[1] A version was engraved by Charles Grignion, who had studied at Gravelot’s drawing school in Covent Garden, in around 1743.

The attribution of English enamels has long been contentious and is in need of revision. In the early 20^th century most high-quality enamels were given to the short-lived York Place Battersea works established by John Brooks with the backing of Alderman Stephen Theodore Janssen between the third quarter of 1753 and their bankruptcy in January 1756. ^[2] To researchers such as Bernard Rackham, when writing his catalogue of the enamels in the Schreiber Collection, it soon became apparent that most of the richly decorated wares were in fact from centres in the Midlands such as Bilston. Further research notably by Bernard Watney and Robert Charleston established Birmingham’s case for the production of much of the finest coloured enamels whilst allowing Battersea just the finely printed wares using engravings of artists such as Simon François Ravenet (1706-1774).

However the excavations at York House, Battersea, between 1996 and 1998 found four wasters of coloured enamel including a toothpick or bodkin case painted with flowers and an insect in flight along with much evidence of work on delft tiles and salt-glazed stoneware, showing that painted enamels were indeed produced at Battersea.[3] Bernard Rackham and others have noted the strong similarity of the best flower painting, such as appears on our casket, to that executed at Chelsea in the early Red Anchor Period, c. 1752-5.

Now that we know that painted decoration was produced at Battersea, and with the similarity of the flower painting to that of Chelsea and the decoration of a subject associated with The Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, just three miles down river from Battersea, we can now plausibly claim this box for London and Battersea itself.

We are Grateful to Judith Crouch for help with our description.

[1] The original painting by Hayman of c. 1743 is in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (Allen CL 174).

[2] Crouch 2005, p. 41 note 3.

[3] Douglas et. al. 2019, p. 98, figs 1-4, Crouch 2005. Very few wasters would be excepted to be found at an enamel factory since the valuable copper would nearly always be recycled.

[4] We are grateful to Judith Crouch for this information.

[5] Described in the caption as: “A tea caddy illustrating Battersea work at the height of its beauty – the richly adorned metalwork of its mount being matched by enamels of masterly line and superb colouring.”

Condition:
The cover was originally surmounted by a handle, the two holes where it stood have been filled in. Typical fine cracks to enamels and wear to areas of the ‘Chinese’ fretwork.

Provenance:

The Hon. Mrs. Nellie Ionides, (No. 937 in the typescript of her catalogue held in the V&A)[4]

Sotheby’s 27 May 1963, lot 168, (bought by Delomosne £2,600)

With Winfred Williams Ltd, acquired in New York (reputedly)

Christie’s London, property from a distinguished Private Collection, 13 November 2014, lot 115, where acquired by Aso O. Tavitian

Aso O. Tavitian, sold Sotheby’s New York, 9 February 2025, lot 1627

Literature:

Hughes 1944
G. Bernard Hughes, English Enamels: Battersea or Bilston? 1- Battersea, Country Life May 26, 1944, p. 902[5]

Watney 1966
Bernard Watney, ‘English Enamels in the 18th Century’, Antiques International: collectors’ guide to current trends; general editor Peter Wilson, 1966, p. 295 fig.14

References:

Crouch 2005
Judith Crouch, ‘York House Battersea; Finds from the excavation of the Enamel Manufactory’, Transactions English Ceramic Circle, vol. 19, part I, 2005

Douglas et. al. 2019
Alistair Douglas, Berni Sudds, Märit Gaimster and Frank Meddens, Elite residence to manufacturing centre: Excavations on the site of the Archbishop of York’s Palace and the Battersea Enamelling Works, at the former Price’s Candle Factory, Regent and Grove Wharves and Bridges Wharf, Battersea (PCA Monograph 22, 2019)

Rackham 1932
Bernard Rackham, ‘Porcelain as a side light on Battersea enamels’, Transaction of the English Porcelain Circle, vol. 4, pp. 45-58

Watney and Charleston 1966
Bernard Watney and R. J. Charleston, ‘Petitions for Patents concerning Porcelain, Glass and Enamels with special reference to Birmingham, ‘The great toyshop of Europe’’, Parts 1A & B, 2A & B, Transactions English Ceramic Circle, vol. 6, part 2, 1966

SOLD