Pottery Shell Edge Pearlware Oval Dish With Chinoiserie Decoration

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Description

Large English Pearlware Oval Dish with Blue and White Chinoiserie and Shell Edge

This striking large oval dish, dating from … Read more Large English Pearlware Oval Dish with Blue and White Chinoiserie and Shell Edge

This striking large oval dish, dating from circa 1790, is an excellent example of late 18th-century English pottery, possibly originating from the Leeds region. It combines three highly fashionable decorative elements of the period: pearlware, blue and white painting, and Chinoiserie.

The dish is made from pearlware, a type of refined earthenware characterized by its clear glaze with a subtle bluish tint, which enhances the white body and the blue decoration. The entire perimeter features a deep, scalloped shell-edged border, a popular treatment for utilitarian tablewares, with sponged or painted blue decoration along the fluted rim.

The deep central well is the focal point, featuring a charming, hand-painted blue and white Chinoiserie scene. It depicts a large, animated Chinese figure pointing toward a prominent pagoda set within an idealized Chinese garden landscape with stylized trees. The central scene is neatly framed by a tight diaper cross-hatched band. The molded rim is further detailed with a blue double suspended drape design in the four corners.

Dimensions: 17 inches wide x 13 inches deep x 1 inch high (43.18 cm wide x 33.02cm deep)

Condition: Good with no restoration and with several small frits to the rim.

Historical Context: Pearlware, Chinoiserie, and the Leeds Style (Circa 1790)

Pearlware and Shell Edge: The late 18th century saw the perfection of pearlware by Staffordshire potters, including Wedgwood, and quickly adopted by other factories across England, notably in Leeds and Yorkshire. The bluish-white glaze provided a perfect, luminous background for underglaze blue decoration. The shell-edge rim was a common, enduring decorative motif on useful wares, adding a textured, attractive element that was easy to mold and paint rapidly.

Chinoiserie Decoration: The central design is a classic example of Chinoiserie, the European interpretation and imitation of Chinese and East Asian artistic motifs. While genuine Chinese export porcelain was expensive, English potteries capitalized on the public's enduring fascination with the exotic Far East by producing stylized, fanciful scenes like this one. The imagery of an elegant Chinese figure, a prominent pagoda, and stylized flora fulfilled this demand, making this type of blue and white ceramic a widely collected item in both Britain and North America. The quality of the molding and the clear, crisp blue hand-painting align with the high standards often associated with Leeds and Yorkshire potteries of the period.

(Ref: NY10560-iuux) See less