A delftware Plate, possibly London, circa 1760
This delftware plate is painted in blue with a large stylised flower head surrounded by a narrow inner border of diagonal lines and three dots, a design repeated on the rim. The outer edge is painted with four groups of Daoist emblems, several of them from the Eight Precious Things, including an open lozenge with ribbons (representing victory), and two mirrors with ribbons (representing unbroken conjugal happiness). The orange-brown painted rim is in imitation of Chinese export porcelain.
Three small spur or peg marks can be seen on the reverse, indicating how such wares were stacked and fired in the kiln. The lumpy glaze has pooled in places on the underside.
Condition: Good – No cracks or restoration, just a few losses to the rim and typical flaking to the fragile tin-glaze, noticeable on the edge of the cavetto.
Dimensions: Diameter 22.1 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).