made in Glasgow

Miniature watering can, with Peebles coat of arms

This porcelain miniature watering can is decorated with the Peebles coat of arms. 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 three fish on a shield, with the Latin motto 'CONTRA NANDO INCREMENTUM' underneath. The fish refer to the great quantities of salmon in the River Tweed. The motto 'Increase by swimming against (the stream)' and the different positions of the fish refer to the fact that when one fish swims upstream to spawn, two or more fish come back down towards the sea.

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.

Record details

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Online ID:	000-180-001-977-C
Image Rights Holder:	National Museums Scotland
Project:	0504: National Museums Scotland Part 2 Project description \| View all records in project
Ref:	National Museums Scotland H.1994.823
Date:	Between around 1900 and 1910
Material:	Porcelain. Inscription: [Peebles coat of arms (shield with three fishes)]; Contra Naudo Incre_____; Peebles; mark: Nautilus M Porcelain 14
Dimensions:	70 mm H x 65 mm L
What:	Watering can, miniature / souvenir
Subject:
Who:	Nautilus Porcelain Company, Possil Park, Glasgow (Maker)
Where:	Scotland, Lanarkshire, Glasgow, Possil Park Scotland, Peeblesshire, Peebles
Event:
Description:	Porcelain watering can with the coat of arms of Peebles, made by the Nautilus Porcelain Company, Possil Park, Glasgow
References:	Evans, G. Souvenirs From Roman Times to the Present Day. Edinburgh: NMS Publishing Ltd, 1999, pp 52-5. Porteous, A. The Town Council Seals of Scotland Historical, Legendary and Heraldic. Edinburgh and London: W & A K Johnston, MCMVI, p. 238.
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