Bloor Derby Dessert Plate, Neoclassical Pattern, 1815-1820 '1'

This is a spectacular and very rare set of ten dessert plates made by Derby in about 1825, which was the Regency era. The plates are richly gilded, each with an individual gilt pattern, and have superb fruit paintings, also each unique, by the famous porcelain decorator Thomas Steel. One can occasionally find one of these plates in the market, but to find a whole set of 10 in such fabulous condition is extremely rare. The Derby factory, later reshaped into Royal Crown Derby, is currently the oldest British porcelain factory still in production. Derby was one of the most prominent potteries right from the start of English porcelain production in the mid 1700s to today. Their items are of exceptionally high quality and many of the designs have become iconic, particularly the Imari designs; many of these are still being made today. Derby made many exciting designs in the Regency era, and these plates are beautiful examples. The marking at the bottom indicates that the plates were produced some time between 1806 and 1825, when the company was called "Bloor Derby"; however the style is from between 1820 and 1825. Thomas Steel (sometimes written as Steele) is considered the very best 19th Century porcelain painter of fruits. He was born in Staffordshire in 1772 and was first apprenticed by Wedgwood. He moved to Derby in 1815, where he became the foremost flower and fruit painter. In 1825 he moved on to the Rockingham factory in Yorkshire, and a few years later to Minton in Staffordshire, where he worked the rest of his life. Steel had a very recognisable style of fruit painting, perhaps best described by the biographer John Haslem: "Steele painted both flowers and insects well, but as a painter of fruit on china he had no superior, if, indeed, he had any equal in his day... His grouping is harmonious, the light and shade well managed, each piece of fruit is well rounded, and the outline softened and blended into the one next to it, each partaking of the reflected colour from the other." These plates each have a different richly gilded border, and octagonal paintings...

This is a beautiful and very rare dessert service made by Flight, Barr & Barr between 1815 and 1820. The service consists of a central comport, two sauce tureens with covers, a squar...

This is a very charming pair of porcelain figures of a stag and a doe, probably cast by Derby in about 1760 and decorated by Bloor Derby in 1820. The figures are a simple white porce...

This is a beautiful one-handled dessert serving dish or "shell" dish made by Derby between about 1820 and 1825 in the Regency era and decorated by Moses Webster. These dishes were to...

This is a very charming "breakfast" teacup and saucer with a plate, made by Derby / Bloor Derby between 1806 and 1825. It is likely that the set was potted between 1806 and 1825, then decorated and brought to the market around 1825. A breakfast cup is a large teacup...

This is a beautiful part dessert service made by Royal Crown Derby in 1916. The service consists of one serving dish and ten plates, and is decorated with beautiful scalloped rims in turquoise and gilt, delicate flower garlands and a very find flower spray on each item. The Derby Porcelain factory has its roots in the late 1740s, when André Planché, a Walloon Huguenot refugee, started making simple porcelain toys shaped like animals. Local entrepreneur William Duysbury took an interest in his skills and worked with him to improve the quality of his wonderfully shaped items. Together they laid the foundations of what would become a very refined tradition of figure making at Derby. In 1769 Duysbury bought up the bankrupted Chelsea factory, incorporating their reputation for high quality figures, vases and tableware; this combination of traditions, porcelain making skills, sophisticated clients and available work people created one of the best porcelain factories of the 18th and 19th Centuries. The factory went through many ups and downs in the 19th Century and was completely re-constituted in the late 19th Century; today it is one of the very few factories still operative. This plate is a fine example of the Edwardian style with its grace, fine painting and delicate gilt. The pattern has similarities to the famous "Royal Antoinette...

An unusual set of 12 Royal Crown Derby dessert plates featuring an elegant and restrained central subject of subtly different urns wit...

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Iron-red uppercase Spode mark and pattern 2213. Richly painted in the Imari palette and enriched in pale-blue, green and gold with flowering shrubs and a tree, the border with altern...

There is great and then there is magnificent and these plates made by Royal Crown Derby qualify as magnificent! This set of 12 dinner plates exhibit all of the characteristics of the...

English derby plate, with an over glaze crown mark and is decorated with brilliant cobalt, red, and green floral patterns. There are bold gilt highlights.