European Antique | Blue and White Transferware Covered Tureen with Handles and Oval Underplate, Scenic Pattern
This is a European antique blue and white transferware set with real presence. A large oval tureen pairs with a high domed cover, twin handles, and a matching oval underplate; body, cover and plate are all covered with finely drawn blue and white landscapes and floral motifs, and displayed together they carry a strongly classical air of the 19th-century European table. In traditional European dining culture, large covered tureens of this type were part of the formal service — in English often called a Covered Tureen — used for soups, stews and similar dishes. Today, however, what makes such surviving large blue and white vessels so appealing is no longer their practical function alone, but the classical table culture and decorative artistry they embody. This example has an oval body with upward-scrolling ear-shaped handles at either side and a footring below, so that even without the underplate it presents a thoroughly resolved three-dimensional proportion. (The piece shows traces of age and use; there is a fairly noticeable loss along the edge of the cover — please consider carefully if this concerns you.)
