Hackwood Miniature Plates, earthenware, Staffordshire, circa 1830
These earthenware miniature or toy dinner plates are printed in blue with the Institution pattern, also known as the Monastery Hill pattern. They were manufactured by the firm of William Hackwood (1774-1849) at his works in Eastwood, Hanley.
Each plate bears the impressed mark HACKWOOD.
Condition: No damage or restoration, just minor manufacturing anomalies. There is some crazing which is not unusual for pearl glazes. The remains of tiny stilt marks show how the plates were stacked in the kiln during the firing process. There is a small clay tear to the cavetto of one plate, and two tiny kiln touches to the rim of another.
Dimensions: The three plates are ever so slightly graduated in size, having diameters 7.7 cm, 7.8 cm and 7.9 cm.
The Dictionary of Blue & White Printed Pottery 1780-1880, Volume I, A.W. Coysh & R.K. Henrywood (Antique Collectors’ Club, 1995).