Masons Brown Underpainted Mudlarked Sher Pendant

Historical Information

Type: Sea Worn Masons Pattern

Fabric: Earthenware

Date: Early 20* Century

Find Location: Colchester, Essex, UK

Extra information:

This sherd is most likely from a cup. It was part of an early 20th-century example of Mason's famous "Mandarin" pattern, produced in Staffordshire during the golden age of English transferware. The design features a richly detailed Orientalist scene, typical of the Chinoiserie revival popular in the late Victorian and Edwardian eras.

Rendered in brown transferware, the Mandarin pattern presents exotic garden scenes, robed figures, and stylised architectural elements, all framed with floral scrollwork and accented — sometimes-by hand-coloured enamels in green, red, or blue.

The pattern was originally introduced in the mid-19th century but continued well into the 20th century with variations and updates in mark styles.

The form of this sherd is consistent with Mason's larger breakfast or tea cups, often paired with deep saucers and used both decoratively and functionally.