Pagoda Paradise: Rare English Pearlware Shell-Edged Dish in Blue Chinoiserie

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Pagoda Paradise: Rare English Pearlware Shell-Edged Dish in Blue Chinoiserie

Discover a charming piece of early 19th-century ceramic history with … Read more Pagoda Paradise: Rare English Pearlware Shell-Edged Dish in Blue Chinoiserie

Discover a charming piece of early 19th-century ceramic history with this large, beautifully stylized English Pearlware Dish, dating from circa 1810 and likely originating from Staffordshire. Its design is a delightful variation of the popular China House Pattern, capturing the enduring English fascination with the East.

Dimensions: 15 3/4 inches wide x 11 3/4 inches deep (40.01 cm wide x 29.85 cm deep)

Design and Detail:

This oval serving dish is defined by its two characteristic features: the pearlware body and the decoration.

Molded Shell-Edge: The rim is dramatically modeled with the highly sought-after, scalloped shell-edge, a feature common in 18th and 19th-century English earthenware. This edge is painted in a deep underglaze blue, accentuating the decorative molding.

Chinoiserie Scene: The central well is decorated in vivid underglaze blue with a whimsical Chinoiserie landscape. The scene features a central pagoda-like structure flanked by two stylized trees—one a classic weeping willow. The ground beneath is distinctively rendered with bold, hatched shadows. The entire central vignette is contained within a hatched border, enhancing the hand-painted, folk-art quality of the design.

Historical Context: The Charm of Pearlware and Chinoiserie

This dish exemplifies the high-quality, utilitarian ceramics produced in England during the Regency period.

Pearlware: Developed by Josiah Wedgwood, pearlware is distinguished by its bluish-white glaze, achieved by adding a touch of cobalt to the clear glaze. This innovation provided a brighter, cleaner backdrop that was superior to earlier creamware for displaying blue and white designs, allowing the underglaze blue of the Chinoiserie pattern to truly pop.

Shell-Edge: The shell-edged border was a hugely popular and decorative touch, designed to imitate more expensive, sculpted porcelain and silver forms.

Chinoiserie: The use of Chinese-inspired scenes was pervasive in European decorative arts for centuries. Here, the "China House" or Pagoda motif reflects the romantic, idealized vision of the Far East embraced by English consumers. The unique drawing style, with its heavy shadows and stylized foliage, confirms its origin as a hand-painted piece of British pottery.

References:

The magic of British shell-edged earthenware, 1775-1860, Robert Hunter, English Ceramic Circle, Transactions, Volume 35, 2024, Page 200, #37 (For a dish with similar design elements).

Painted in Blue, Lois Roberts, The Northern Ceramic Society, p.152, fig. 280 c (Illustrates a plate with a similar subject).

"How Creamware Got the Blues: The Origins of China Glaze and Pearlware," George L. Miller and Robert Hunter, The Chipstone Foundation (Provides technical context on the pearlware body).

(Ref: NY10513-camx) See less