This is a First Period Worcester teacup and saucer painted in the fabulous Jabberwocky pattern.
It is painted in the Kakiemon style.
The cup and saucer both have striking turquoise rococo borders with gilt and iron red diapered panels.
Both have a fluted form. The fluting adds visual interest as light plays across the curved surfaces.
The cup has a scrolled handle (see images).
The pattern depicts a long-tailed dragon-type bird flying by an over-glaze blue enamel branch, surrounded by rich foliage,
all within the turquoise border and gilt-lined rims.
The overall effect is fabulous!
For an example with images of the First Period Worcester Jabberwocky pattern, see Christie’s New York, January 18, 1999, lot 187 “A Group of Worcester ‘Jabberwocky’ Pattern Wares, Circa 1770”.

Dimensions: Saucer 5.25″ diameter, teacup 2.25″ tall x 2.5″ diameter

Condition: Excellent

Marks: Both pieces have the Worcester underglaze blue mock Chinese seal mark of the period in use from 1755 to 1775.

When first made in the 1760s, the pattern was described as a “fine Old Rich Dragon” pattern with blue ‘Celeste’ borders.”
The term “Jabberwocky” was later applied to the pattern due to the resemblance of the dragon to the dragon in Lewis Carroll’s nonsense poem, “Alices’s Adventures Through the Looking Glass,” which was published in 1871.