Vibrant colours of summer flowers first draw the eye to this Chamberlain-Worcester dessert plate, but let it then linger on the exceptionally fine border. The moulded pattern is trailing acanthus; the symmetrical ornamental reliefs in gold have two birds perched on either side.
On the back of the plate is a printed backstamp showing the royal coat of arms, with underneath, CHAMBERLAINS, WORCESTER, & 11 New Bond Street LONDON. Royal Porcelain Manufacturers. Chamberlains used this stamp between 1811 and 1840.
A plate of the same shape, but with different flowers, belongs to the Museum of Royal Worcester, and is plate 156 in Geoffrey Godden’s Chamberlain-Worcester Porcelain 1788-1852. ‘A superb-quality Chamberlain plate with a rare and delicately worked relief border, some portions of which are picked out in gold … it is the only example with this moulded border known to me,’ is Godden’s description.
Condition Pristine, apart from some miniscule gilt rubbing. There is a tiny firing frit on one of the orange flower petals in the centre.
Diameter: 21.8 cm
Weight: 340 g
Origin: Worcester, England
Medium: Hard-paste porcelain
See Chamberlain, 1788-1852 in Makers & Artists for background on the factory.
