Royal Doulton | Bunnykins | Cereal Bowl | Fine Bone China | England, 1984 — Golden Jubilee Celebration

The market scene on this bowl has been tipping its barrow for ninety years, and the chaos has not abated.

Bunnykins was introduced by Royal Doulton in 1934, based on the drawings of Sister Mary Barbara Vernon, a Dominican nun whose scenes of rabbit families in everyday life became one of the factory’s most enduring designs. The copyright was registered in 1936 — a date carried across decades of production. In 1984, fifty years of the range was marked with a Golden Jubilee Celebration issue, of which this bowl forms a part. The jubilee backstamp gives the piece a defined place within the wider series.

The bowl is of the standard cereal form, with gently rising sides and a broad, slightly flattened rim. The central well carries the market scene: a mother rabbit in a blue dress and white apron stands beside a loaded barrow on a cobbled street, while a cluster of young rabbits spills across the foreground among scattered fruit and parcels. Behind, a green gas lamp rises, with a small mouse clinging partway up — a detail easily missed until looked for. The inner rim is bordered by the familiar procession of leaping hares, each separated by a short stroke of green against the cream ground.

There are no chips, cracks, or crazing. The printed decoration remains sharp and well-preserved throughout, with no fading to the central scene or the border.

Key Details

• Maker: Royal Doulton
• Pattern: Bunnykins — Market Day scene
• Form: Cereal bowl
• Material: English fine bone china
• Backstamp: "Bunnykins" ® / © Royal Doulton Tableware Ltd 1936 / Golden Jubilee Celebration / 1984
• Diameter: 14.9 cm
• Height: 4.5 cm
• Weight: 215 g
• Condition: Excellent

Collector Appeal

Golden Jubilee Bunnykins pieces from 1984 occupy a defined place within the long production history of Royal Doulton, marking fifty years of one of its most recognisable designs. Bowls in this format, particularly those retaining crisp decoration and free from wear, remain quietly collectable, appealing both to dedicated Bunnykins collectors and to those drawn to nurseryware with a clear narrative character.

A scene like this was meant to be looked into as much as used — the sort of small, contained world that rewards a second glance.