A Chelsea white 'Goat and Bee' jug, circa 1745-47


Probably modelled by Nicholas Sprimont, the branch handle applied with oak leaves, the lower section finely moulded with two recumbent goats seated nose to tail, a delicate bee resting on a flowering plant above, 11cm high, incised triangle mark
|Another example is illustrated by Paul Crane, Nature, Porcelain and the Age of Enlightenment, Art Antiques London 2015, where the similarity between the recumbent goats on the base of the jug and base of the silver Ashburnham centrepiece made by Nicholas Sprimont is noted. Another possible source for the design has been suggested by Zorka Hodgson, Sources of inspiration for the Goat and Bee jug and other Chelsea creations, ECC Trans, Vol.14, pt 1, p 40, figs 21 and 22, where a woodblock print by Domenico Campagnols (1500-67) is suggested. A similar example from the Zorka Hodgson Collection was sold in these rooms 10 September 2008, lot 8.