Bow porcelain

Bow porcelain

English soft-paste porcelain made at a factory in Stratford-le-Bow, Essex, c. 1744–76. From 1750 bone ash was used in its production by Thomas Frye, an Irish engraver, who invented the process. Bow varies in appearance and quality, but at its best has a soft, creamy-white tone with a smooth glaze. Bow tablewares were among the first English porcelain to be ornamented with transfer-printed decorations (see Battersea enamelware). Bow also produced great quantities of figurines (e.g., statesmen, actors, birds, animals) in the Rococo style.