Ridgway Large Dessert Service, Cobalt Blue, Gilt, Flowers, Regency ca 1818

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Ridgway Large Dessert Service, Cobalt Blue, Gilt, Flowers, Regency ca 1818

About the Item

This is a spectacular full 41-piece dessert service made by Ridgway around the year 1818, which is known as the Regency period. The service consists of 24 plates, four oval dishes, four square dishes, four one-handled dishes, two lidded sauce comports on attached stands, and one centre piece comport. Ridgway was one of the pioneers of English china production alongside other great potters such as Spode, Davenport, Minton, Coalport and others and they created very high quality tea and dinnerware. Ridgway had a tradition of a very wide-ranging offer of china products, anything from the most sublime dinnerware to humble toilet pots. It is notoriously difficult to identify their wares and this is one reason their beautiful tea and dinner wares are often underestimated. This service is unmarked, as most Ridgway items, but the reason we know it was made by Ridgway is the style, the pattern number and the shape of the items. Ridgway was a master of large dessert services. In the early 19th Century, hosting dinner parties became a new fashion; it was how business deals were made and marriages arranged. Particularly the dessert service was important as it would leave guests with the lasting impression of the host's sophistication and wealth. The combination of cobalt blue and gilt became very popular; as the only lighting available in those days was candle light, you can imagine how the gilt on a service like this would reflect the flickering light and create a spectacular effect. This service is decorated in an underglaze cobalt blue ground, exceptionally lavish gilt patterns on top of the glaze, and reserves with beautiful flower bouquets in the centre and the border of each piece. Each flower arrangement is unique and has been painted with the greatest skill and delicacy. The items are shaped beautifully in an early Rococo Revival shape with pierced handles. The finials of the sauce tureens are shaped like flowers. The gilding is not only lavish; each flower rim is slightly asymmetric and has a large crown on the top, suggesting that this pattern might have been designed for Royalty. The service is unmarked but all items have the pattern number 882, which dates the service to about 1818. CONDITION REPORT The service is in exceptionally excellent antique condition without any damage or repairs whatsoever, except one small chip and one very light line, both hardly visible when in position. The service has been used so there is light wear, as visible in the pictures. Unusual for porcelain of this era, there is no crazing. Antique British porcelain is never perfect. Kilns were fired on coal in the 1800s, and this meant that china from that period can have some firing specks from flying particles. British makers were also known for their experimentation, and sometimes this resulted in technically imperfect results. Due to the shrinkage in the kiln, items can have small firing lines or develop crazing over time, which should not be seen as damage but as an imperfection of the maker's recipes, probably unknown at the time of making. Items have often been used for many years and can have normal signs of wear, and gilt can have signs of slight disintegration even if never handled. I will reflect any damage, repairs, obvious stress marks, crazing or heavy wear in the item description but some minor scratches, nicks, stains and gilt disintegration can be normal for vintage items and need to be taken into account. There is widespread confusion on the internet about the difference between chips and nicks, or hairlines and cracks. I will reflect any damage as truthfully as I can, i.e. a nick is a tiny bit of damage smaller than 1mm and a chip is something you can easily see with the eye; a glazing line is a break in the glazing only; hairline is extremely tight and/or superficial and not picked up by the finger; and a crack is obvious both to the eye and the finger. Etcetera - I try to be as accurate as I can and please feel free to ask questions or request more detailed pictures!

Creator:
Ridgway Porcelain (Maker)
Dimensions:
Height: 1 in (2.54 cm)Width: 1 in (2.54 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
Sold As:
Set of 41
Style:
Regency (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Porcelain,Hand-Painted
Place of Origin:
England
Period:
1810-1819
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1818
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. In exceptionally excellent antique condition without any damage, repairs or crazing. There is light wear, and one small chip and one very light line.
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: LT-RID011stDibs: LU4805126695342