The "ship" border pattern gets its name from Spode pattern 3067, which paired the same border design with a Chinese harbour scene, and the firm went on to reuse that same border across more than fifty different central patterns, Chinoiserie and floral alike, this jar's Famille Rose peony design being one of them. That kind of interchangeable design system was standard practice at Spode, letting a single successful border pair with whatever central motif a customer wanted.
The barrel-shaped body has two curving handles and a flat interior lid, hand-painted in polychrome enamel, reddish-pink, orange, blue and green, over the pearlware body. The design was first outlined, then filled in by an enameller, a two-stage process typical of the period's finer decorative work. It's marked underneath with the black printed "SPODE" stamp and pattern number 3184.
Condition notes
Good antique condition. Some small losses to enamelling; crack to lid; signs of repair to handles and to inner rim; the outer lid is absent.
