A small delftware Plate, probably Bristol, circa 1740
Of delightfully small size and simple pancake form, this plate is painted in blue with a naive garden scene in which a large exotic flower and foliage issue from a Chinese-style fence.
Provenance: Paper label for the ceramics dealer and writer, Louis Gautier (circa 1867-1943). See the last photo for a 1936 pencil sketch of Gautier by the artist Fred Roe (1864-1947). © National Portrait Gallery, London.
Condition: Good – no cracks or restoration, just minor losses to the brittle tin glaze around the edge. A few very small areas around the rim were left unglazed during manufacture, or the glaze withdrew (crawled) during the firing process. Also from manufacture are the two stilt marks on the reverse, evidence of how the plate was stacked in the kiln.
Dimensions: Diameter 20 cm
Delftware: The Tin-glazed Earthenware of the British Isles, Michael Archer (V&A/HMSO, 1997).
English Delftware, F.H. Garner and Michael Archer (Faber & Faber, 1972).