So much effort in a handle, UK, circa 1895

This stately form is also from the UK.  It does not ring with the princely ping of high fired porcelain, for it is made from its utilitarian cousin ironstone, but what it lacks in pedigree it makes up in style, class and resilience over time.  Its long and slender throat is accented with an ornate and totally unexpected  formal handle.  This is where the eye is coxed and the payoff is extraordinary. It starts with a tucked in leaf motif, expands with the same design but reversed and then with multi tracks undulates gracefully to another abstracted shape of biological inspiration I am sure.  This urinal has a 1 5/8" rimmed opening to caress the upper end of an average sized member belonging to a man of moderate measurement.  There is an elegance or restraint in this urinal's design that deserves our admiration.  Its surface though not crazed has a distinctive patina of age and wisdom with an unusual "scar" in its finish.  Not a scratch or manufactured defect, but a ravage of time totally misunderstood and mysterious.