A beautiful Worcester Inkwell

A Flight & Barr Worcester Sea Shell Decorated Inkwell,
Shell painting by Samuel Smith,
Circa 1800-05

The circular inkwell is decorated with a Barr's orange ground and gilding. To the front is a rectangular panel painted with sea shells, coral and seaweed, the seaweed with dendritic sprigs in purple, a style now associated with Samuel Smith based on signed pieces given to the Dyson Perrins Museum in Worcester in 1976 by descendants.
The gilding on the reverse has three panels. The two outer panels depict a palm leaf and the centre one a face surrounded by plumage, possibly depicting a Native American something I have never seen before.
Mark: scratch B on base.
Dimensions: 2 3/4 inches (6.5cm); diameter: 2 7/8 inches (7.5cm)

Early painted inkwells are considered rare.

Fruit design Royal Worcester porcelaine

In 1751, the first Worcester Porcelaine factory was founded by a group of 15 men, headed by Dr. John Wall, an eminent physician. Dr. Wall and his partners developed their method for producing porcelain and then persuaded a group of 13 local businessmen to back their discovery with an investment in a new factory at Warmstry House. The secret of porcelain production was to be the property of the shareholders and each agreed to a penalty of  £ 4000 should they disclose knowledge of the secret to anyone. The original partnership deeds are still housed in the Worcester Museum.

Hard paste porcelain is made of 2 ingredients-kaolin(clay) and petuntse (decomposed granite). European countries were unable to unlock the secret to the formula so they made their first porcelains by substituting different materials. Kaolin instead of soapstone, for instance.The soapstone made the porcelain withstand the heat of boiling water and produced tea services that were very much in demand.