A rare and important documentary Lowestoft blue and white mug dated 1768, painted by Richard Phillips with an unusual scene of a figure tending three lines of herring being hung and smoked over two burning fires, flanked by a three masted fishing smack and a smaller rowing boat, inscribed `John Cooper 1768`, the interior rim with a formal border, the handle`s terminal inscribed `RP`, painter`s numeral 3 to the footrim, broken and restuck, 11.2cm. Provenance: a private collection in East Anglia. Formerly the Casley Collection. Illustrated: Christopher Spencer, Early Lowestoft, p.25, figs 13-15. Richard Phillips is associated with the painter`s numeral 3, which is also included on another piece signed `Richar`d Phillips`. See Sheenah Smith, Lowestoft Porcelain in Norwich Castle Museum, p.41 for a discussion about this painter. The mug is illustrated on page 45, and is the only other recorded piece bearing Phillips` initials or signature. Lowestoft had a strong reputation for its herring trade, despite not having a proper harbour.