Period: Edwardian
Maker: Hammersley & Co.
At first sight, the dazzling decoration on this pair of hand-painted plates resembles a circa 1831 Coalport ‘Adelaide’ cup & saucer that Cotswold Antiques has on sale. Indeed, the back of one plate carries an old label, attesting that it is of ‘Coalport Adelaide’ shape, and dates from ‘1835-40’.
In fact, the two plates were made more than a half-century later by Hammersley, a factory that started production in 1887. The tell-tale mark is a small impressed ‘HL,’ which we have seen on other porcelains that bear the Hammersley backstamp. The impressed numeral ‘9’ below the two letters probably refers to the year they were made, 1909.
Condition Pristine/perfect, apart from a couple of light surface scratches, visible only on close inspection.
Diameters: 23.8 cm & 23.6 cm
Combined net weight: 920 g
Medium: Bone china (porcelain)
Origin: Stoke-on-Trent, England
