A delftware polychrome Plate, probably London or Bristol, circa 1740
Of simple pancake form and painted with stylised chinoiserie flowers, shrubs, grasses and flying insects in an unusual shade of orange-red, with blue, yellow and green. The central scene is contained within blue concentric circles, and the inner rim is painted with a red line border. There are three stilt or spur marks to the underside, showing how the plate was stacked in the kiln for firing.
The centre of the flat base has a 6 in blue.
Dimensions: Diameter 23 cm.
Condition: Excellent – no cracks or restoration, just typical losses to the fragile tin glaze around the edge. The orange-red line has presumably misfired, giving it a rippled effect. The bluish glaze is lumpy on the reverse, and has numerous pinholes.
Ref. Shape H (Alphabetic shape codes as used in appendix to Archer, Delftware, 1997).
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).
Price: £350.