Miniature vase, with Ottawa coat of arms

This porcelain miniature vase is decorated with the the coat of arms of the city of Ottawa. It was made for the souvenir market by the Nautilus Porcelain Company at the Possil Pottery in Glasgow and dates from between around 1900 and 1910.

The arms consist of a four-segment shield showing a steam engine, a coal mine, a suspension bridge and deer with a rising sun. The shield is surmounted by a plough and a wheatsheaf and a hand with a tomahawk. The shield is flanked by blind justice on the right and a man with a tractor on the left. The motto above is 'ADVANCE'.

Crested china became the most important type of British souvenir between 1900 and 1930. Its invention is credited to William Henry Goss (1833-1906), the owner of the Falcon Works in Stoke-on Trent. The main producer of crested china in Scotland was the Nautilus Porcelain Company, at the Possil Pottery in Glasgow. Run by the china merchants MacDougall & Sons, of 77-79 Buchanan Street, the company produced 'Nautilus' miniatures between around 1900 and 1910. The pottery closed in 1911.

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