Pearlware Tea Caddy, Prattware, Staffordshire, Circa 1790–1800

This English pearlware tea caddy dates to the late 18th century and is decorated in the Prattware manner with moulded relief figures painted in underglaze colors. Its satirical subject and refined proportions reflect the taste for humorous yet fashionable ceramics in Georgian England.

The underglaze colors include green, cobalt blue, yellow and warm ochre, all characteristic of Prattware. These tones accentuate facial features and costume details while remaining stable and vivid against the pale pearlware body. The Macaroni figures depicted derive from satirical imagery popular in England between about 1765 and 1790,  parodying exaggerated Continental fashion adopted by young men returning from the Grand Tour.

The towering powdered wigs and elongated silhouettes serve as instantly recognisable symbols of fashionable excess. Prattware production was centred in Staffordshire, with more limited evidence for related manufacture in Scotland, notably Prestonpans. Such pieces are now firmly established within a specialist field of collecting devoted to satirical English ceramics.

Dimensions: Height 12.5 cm; width 8.5 cm; depth 6.8 cm; weight 232 g.
Condition: Minor age-related wear to the enamel, consistent with age. Overall excellent antique condition.

Please study the accompanying photographs carefully as they form an integral part of this description. If you have any questions, we will be happy to answer them. The item will be shipped with full tracking and insurance. It is important to note that shipping costs include labour, packaging and postage.