Ross & Gael RAMSAY Bow Porcelain Research Site (updated February 2010)

The Bow Porcelain Manufactory

History:
The Bow porcelain manufactory (New Canton) is generally regarded as having commenced production of bone ash, soft-paste porcelains in the vicinity of Bow village, east London around 1748. The concern reached its zenith in the mid 1750s and then slid into a slow decline, finally closing around 1774. The use of bone ash in porcelain survived the demise of Bow and has now evolved into what we refer today as English bone china.

Our research:
Over the last seven years our research, in conjunction with various colleagues, suggests that there is considerably more to the story of Bow and its porcelain output than the above short account might indicate. Under Our Research Results in chronological order together with brief summaries, is listed our work to date relating to Bow. It might appear that the contribution by this porcelain concern has been considerably underestimated by ceramic historians over the last 150 years.