Burke, and presented by that gentleman to Mrs. Smith, who had' hospitably enter- tained him during the election in Bristol in 1774. This service is decorated with wreaths of lanrri ^rccn and mat gilding. A magnificent Bristol vase painted alternately with landscapes in blue and carmine, and with birds, insects, and foliage in colours. Bought at the Bristol factory by the late Mr. Joseph Fry. From the Fry collection. Each piece bears the arms and crest of the Smith family, and has the initials of Mrs. Smith (SS) in tiny coloured flowers. Some years ago ^93 was given for a cup and saucer of this service. Champion was a great admirer of Dresden porcelain, which he copied. He even went so far as to adopt the mark of this factory upon some of his pieces. He also made very beautiful figures, some of which were of large size. A few are in white, but the majority are painted in fine enamels and gilt. Perhaps the most celebrated are those representing the four quarters of the globe. " Europe," with a book in one hand and a palette in the other, has a reclining horse and war trophies at her feet ; " Asia " holds a vase of spices, with a camel at her feet ; " America " extracts an arrow from her quiver with one hand, and holds a bow in the other — at her feet is a prairie cat ; " Africa " is represented by a young negress, with a lion, an elephant's head, and a crocodile. Other well-known sets of figures are " The Seasons"; "The Elements"; "Earth," a husbandman leaning upon a spade with a basket of fruit at his feet ;" Air," a winged figure resting upon a cloud ; 1^ Fire,"' ■> Vulcan forging a thunderbolt; " Water," a nymph, with fishes in a net at her feet. These last figures are signed (To), and are supposed to have been ihe work of a clever modeller named Tebo, 585 WOMAN'S HOME who was employed at Bristol. Henry Bone, who afterwards became so celebrated as a miniature painter in enamels, and who wrote " R.A." after his name, was Cham- pion's first apprentice. A specialty of the Bistol factory arc the biscuit (unglazed) plaques, with portraits or coats of arms surrounded by exquisitely modelled floral designs in high relief. These are generally entirely in white, but a bust of George Washington in the British Museum is surrounded by a wreath of dull gold, enclosed by festoons of white flowers and foliage in high relief. The modelling of these delicate flowers and tendrils is so fine that it is wonderful to reflect that a plaque so decorated survived the fire at the Alexandra Palace, and is now in the British Museum. Distinctive Mark5 The mark most frequently met with upon Bristol porcelain, is a cross in grey or blue, under the glaze, and in other shades and gold, over the glaze. On early pieces, the Plymouth and Bristol marks were used conjointly, and the letter (B) also appears, with the sign for tin. The crossed swords of Dresden were used in blue under the glaze ; the letter B is sometimes found with these, and a numeral from i to 24. The numbers are said to denote the painter ; thus, Henry Bone, the celebrated enameller, being Champion's first apprentice, marked his work with the numeral i . Some pieces so marked may be seen in the British Museum. William Stephens was Champion's second appren- tice, and is known to have signed his work with the numeral 2. A cross incised in the paste was also used as a mark, but the forger of old Bristol has made this peculiarly his own, whilst he marks other pieces with the Bristol rendering of the Dresden crossed swords, with numerals higher than 24. 1 2. 3 ^ BristoU, 1 5 9 '" 11 IS.. Bristol marks. The mark most frequently found is a cross in grey oi blue.
