Blue Onion Pattern Porcelain Invalid Feeder with Gold Trim, Circa 1880s-1920s

Porcelain invalid feeder, or pap boat, with a half-covered top, long drinking spout and loop handle, painted in the classic blue onion pattern with gold accents. Feeders like this let the sick, the elderly and infants take broth, gruel, milk or medicine while lying down, before the drinking straw and the modern sippy cup. The blue onion pattern was introduced by Meissen in the 1730s and copied by many European factories through the 19th and early 20th centuries. Light wear to the gilt.