Miles Mason Porcelain

This is a stunning dessert service made by Miles Mason between 1813 and 1820. It is made of Patent Ironstone China, decorated in the very rare "Famille Verte Chinoiserie" pattern with a garden scene. It consists of a soup tureen with cover on stand, an oval dish, two lobed dishes, one large plate and 10 dessert plates. Miles Mason started making porcelain in the 1790s, when porcelain imports from China ceased and there was a need for British-made porcelain. In the early 19th Century he purchased the patent for "ironstone" china from the Turner brothers and in 1813 he launched his "Mason't Patent Ironstone China". This was a china body that strictly speaking was earthenware, but as strong as porcelain and looking more like the porcelain that had been imported from China, than bone china. Ironstone china was cheaper to produce and its blueish hue was excellent for the Chinoiserie decorations that were still popular. The new middle class, sprung up with the Industrial Revolution, could not afford the expensive hand painted bone china table sets yet and they were also quite attached to the Chinese style of decorating. Mason saw the opportunity and started supplying huge amounts of dinner and dessert services to the new industrialists. Soon, all other potters started imitating him by bringing out their own "stone china' bodies, each with a slightly different name. This dessert service has the typical and wonderful leaf-shaped serving dishes and simple round plates. It is decorated in a style typical for the earlier Mason's ironstone china: a hand painted imitation of a typical Chinoiserie garden scene of a tea drinking couple and their servants. The pattern is similar to patterns that can be found on Chinese import...

This is a beautiful dessert plate made by Miles Mason between 1815 and 1820. Miles Mason was one of the early ones of the second wave of British porcelain makers, alongside Spod...

This is a beautiful serving dish made by Miles Mason in about 1813. The dish has surface moulded vines on a light blue ground, and flowers with a birds nest in the centre. Miles M...

This is a beautiful set of a true trio and a saucer dish made by Miles Mason around 1810, which was the Regency era. The set consists of a teacup, a coffee...

This is a wonderful tea and coffee service serving 6 with the beautiful Pagoda pattern in blue and white transfer. The coffee pot was made by Rathbone and the cups and saucers by Miles Mason. I have also listed the set of teacup...

This is a very charming "true trio" made by Miles Mason around 1810, which was the Regency era. The items are decorated with the famous Pagoda pattern i...

This is a gorgeous full tea service serving six made by Miles Mason circa 1810, which was the Regency era. The items are decorated with the famous Pagoda pattern...

This is a beautiful orphaned coffee can made by Miles Mason, circa 1810.   Miles Mason was one of the early ones of the second wave of British porce...

This is a porcelain blue and white, hand gilded coffee cup and saucer made by Miles Mason (Mason's), Staffordshire Potteries, in the early 19th century, circa 1812-1820. Both piec...

This is a porcelain blue and white, hand gilded pair of coffee cups and saucers made by Miles Mason (Mason's), Staffordshire Potteries, in the early 19th century, circa 1812-1820. ...

This is a beautiful teacup and saucer made by Miles Mason circa 1810, which was the Regency era. The items are decorated with a cheerful red and blue pattern and, very unusually, silver gilding throughout the pattern and on the rim. Miles Mason was one of the early ones of the second wave of British porcelain makers, alongside Spode and others. Mason was a prominent porcelain retailer in London at the time that most porcelain came from China, imported by the East India Company. When those imports stopped in 1791 (due to the racketeering at the porcelain auctions by Mason and his fellow dealers), he seized the opportunity and started to experiment in making his own porcelain. By the early 1800s, Mason had developed both very strong ironstone, and bone china. Mason copied the Chinese designs he used to import, and became famous for large Chinoiserie dinner and dessert wares made of "Patent Ironstone". However, they also made very fine porcelain and pearlware tea services. This set would have been part of such a large tea service. It is made of fine pearlware and is therefore lighter than porcelain, and it is decorated with a Folk Art-like pattern of blue, red and silver. It is very rare to find items that are gilded with silver rather than gold. The set is unmarked as was common at the time. Condition report: The set is in excellent antique condition without any damage, repairs or crazing, and only some light wear on the silver, as visible in the pictures. Antique British pottery...

This is a porcelain blue and white, hand gilded pair of coffee cups and saucers made by Miles Mason (Mason's), Staffordshire Potteries, in the early 19th century, circa 1812-1820. ...