A large Barr, Flight & Barr Worcester Plate, circa 1807-13
The decoration on this richly patterned Barr, Flight & Barr large plate clearly reflects the Regency taste for oriental design, prevalent in Britain between the years 1811-20. The iron red enamel, underglaze blue, and rich gilding demonstrates the influence of Japanese Imari wares. The plate is finely decorated with an imaginary garden scene at the centre of which is a blue and gilt scholar’s rock, and a fretwork fence. A blue long-tailed bird is in flight, surrounded by enormous, exotic-looking leafy blooms. In the grassy foreground are three rocky clumps. The red and gold border is of alternate stylised leafy flower heads and gilt leaves. Gilt line rim.
Impressed crown and BFB mark, and 106 in red script.
Provenance: An English Private Collection.
We also have eleven slightly smaller plates decorated with this pattern.
With extravagant projects such as the Royal Pavilion at Brighton, The Prince of Wales led the fashionable elite when it came to exhibiting a taste for opulence. He very much favoured designs which were inhibitively expensive to produce, adding to the exclusivity of his own collection, whilst preventing lesser manufacturers from recreating pieces. Indeed, he spent a vast fortune on porcelain, including at least six rich Worcester services. Two of his Barr, Flight & Barr services are decorated in the rich Imari taste, and in 1807, he awarded the company his Royal Warrant.
Condition: No damage, restoration or re-gilding. The gilt and enamel decoration is in excellent order, with only a tiny flake to the gilding on one of the flowers.
Dimensions: Diameter 24.2 cm
Flight and Barr Worcester Porcelain 1783-1840, Henry Sandon (Antique Collectors’ Club, 1992).