Coalport Porcelain Oval Dish, Beige with Apple by Joseph Birbeck, circa 1847

This is a very rare oval lobed dish from the famous "Earl of Camden" service made by the Derby Porcelain Company in 1795. The service was painted with typical English roses by William Billingsley, one of Britain's most famous painters, and responsible for exactly this type of rose painting on British porcelain. There are more items available in this pattern, see separate listings. To keep these items together we'd be happy to offer a discount on multiple purchases - please ask! The Derby Porcelain Company, later called Royal Crown Derby, is currently the oldest British porcelain factory still in production. The Derby pottery was one of the most prominent potteries right from the start of English porcelain production in the mid 1700s to today, and the factory went through many iterations. In the 1820s, it was called "Bloor Derby" as it came under the ownership of Robert Bloor; this factory later closed but its legacy was continued under the ownership of a group of employees, and later this was merged into a new factory called Royal Crown Derby, which is still in operation today and still carries forward some of the oldest patterns that have made it famous over the centuries. William Billingsley was a brilliant but notoriously difficult man who left behind a trail of debts, broken hearts and mystery - but he was also one of the most important people in the history British porcelain. Billingsley revolutionised the way British decorators painted flowers; he added a freedom and artistry that now singles out British flower painting, and he created a new technique for painting roses, which you can see in this design. Billingsley worked at Derby, Worcester and Mansfield. He also set up his own potteries in Pinxton and Nantgarw and created some of the best porcelain ever made, but racking up great debts, before running off in the dead of night and ending his days at Coalport painting flowers. Items painted by William Billingsley are rare and very much in demand - together with Thomas Baxter's work they are probably among the most desired pieces of British porcelain. The Earl of Camden service was a huge service ordered by Lady Camden in 1795. It had to be produced under great, and unrealistic, time pressure and was notoriously late, much to Lady Camden's chagrin. She wanted the service to be produced by only the best artisans and therefore William Billingsley was tasked with painting all items - but it is thought that when it was clear the deadline was impossible to make, he enlisted the help of John Brewer for some of the last items, such as the ice pails. This plate shows the typical "Billingsley" roses: a beautiful naturally flowing garland of English roses interspersed with buds, trailing around a crisp gilt ribbon. The way the roses link into each other, the way each individual one is completely different, the light effects achieved by rubbing out some of the pink paint, and the very fine buds and foliage all point to these being from Billingsley's hand. This dish came together with a plate that bears labels that point to a rich provenance: the Doris Wheatley Collection, the Daniel Collection, Derek Gardner...

This is a striking square serving dish made by Chamberlains in Worcester around 1805. The dish bears the Fine Old Japan pattern, often called the Nelson pattern. Robert Chamberlai...

This is a beautiful and rare porcelain round serving dish made by Chelsea-Derby in about 1775. The dish is round and pleasingly lobed, and is decorated in a turquoise rim with gilt a...

A footed two-handled sauce tureen with cover, maroon and pale yellow ground with beautiful hand painted flower sprays on lower part of body; twisted handles and a petticoat stem Pat...

Oval Meissen Pink Rose bowl in hand-painted porcelain with gold edge. Early 20th century. Measures: 23.5 x 19.5 x 4 cm. In excellent condition. ...

Pair of porcelain sugar bowls Meissen, circa 1748-1775 Marked with crossed swords and number “92” of the gilder They measure 5.11 in (13 cm) x 5.11 in ...

This is a good oval shaped serving dish or bowl, made by the Derby factory, hand painted and gilded in a free flowing floral pattern, during the reign of George 111 in the early 19th century, circa 1815.   This is a well potted oval shaped dish or bowl with a vertically fluted and moulded side edge and rim, sitting on a low foot. The piece is beautifully hand decorated in a free flowing manner, in one of Derby's Imari style floral Patterns, with enamels of cobalt blue, burnt orange, pink and yellow, all in varying shades. It has then been hand gilded, with gold detail to some of the flowers, blue leaf, the inner border and the outer rim. The dish has the early Derby...

This is a good quality coffee can that we attribute to the Coalport porcelain works, Shropshire, England, made during the John Rose period of the George 111rd years, circa 1805. The coffee can is nominally parallel, tapering slightly to the base, with a simple loop handle, with a slight lower kink and pointed attachments. It has a shallow foot recess with obtuse corner and is unmarked to the base. The pattern is beautifully hand painted in the French Chantilly style with cornflower sprigs in gold gilt and blue with red & green leaf detail to the lower half with an upper border continuous cornflower pattern, all between gold gilt rings with further gilt decoration to the outer handle and gilding around the lower rim. We date this piece to the late George third...