Chinese porcelain bowl with austere decoration- snail-like characters and pellets- from Wickham Glebe.

Chinese porcelain bowl with austere decoration- snail-like characters and pellets- from Wickham Glebe.

Chinese porcelain bowl

17th century

Found during excavations by Winchester Museums Service Archaeology Section in a field just east of Wickham Square (opposite St Nicholas Church) in the mid- to late 1970s

This bowl, made between 1621 and 1627 during the Tianqui reign, was the earliest of a group of Chinese porcelain tablewares found in the backfill of a cess pit on the site of Wickham Manor House. The decoration is similar to some seen on pottery made for export to Japan. Porcelain was brought to England by the East India Company, and at this time was rare, and quite expensive.

Chinese porcelain bowl with austere decoration- snail-like characters and pellets- from Wickham Glebe.