In the 18th century the orange fruit was much prized.  With the rise in popularity of oranges as a delicacy for dessert it is not surprising that one of Josiah Wedgwood I's most ornate items of Queen's Ware was the so-called 'Orange Bowl'.  Hand-pierced in order to reveal the fruit peeping through the lattice of the bowl and lid, this shape is one of the earliest forms of Wedgwood Queen's Ware production, dating back to the 1770s.  Comprising a circular footed basket with domed pierced cover, an illustration of this piece appears in the first Wedgwood Queen's Ware catalogue of 1774