Creamware Armorial Dish, Neale & Co, Sir James Grant of Grant, Circa 1780

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Description

Neale & Co. Creamware Armorial Dish, Arms of Grant of Grant, Circa 1782
Circa 1782

A rare piece of Scottish … Read more Neale & Co. Creamware Armorial Dish, Arms of Grant of Grant, Circa 1782
Circa 1782

A rare piece of Scottish clan history for the table or the wall, this English creamware oval dish was made by Neale & Co. of Staffordshire for the documented dinner service supplied to Sir James Grant of Grant, chief of Clan Grant, in 1782. At the center, painted in polychrome enamels, is the full achievement of arms of Grant of Grant: a red shield with three gold antique crowns, held by two savages wreathed about the head and loins, beneath a gold coronet and the clan crest of a mountain in flames, with a scrolling iron-red ribbon lettered "STAND FAST". The crest and coronet appear again at the top of the rim.

The dish has the generous oval shape and softly lobed rim of the neoclassical period, finished with a broad puce band and a fine inner line that trace the edge. The warm cream ground, the deep red of the shield and the plum-colored border make a handsome combination that sits happily with mahogany, tartan and old silver.

Hang it as the centerpiece of a plate wall in a dining room or library, stand it on a sideboard or dresser rack, or use it as it was intended, as a serving dish for a supper with a Scottish flavor. It is a natural choice for a Grant descendant, a collector of armorial ceramics, or anyone furnishing a country house or Highland-inspired interior.

Dimensions
Length: 13¾ inches (34.9 cm)
Width: 10¾ inches (27.3 cm)

Marks
Unmarked.

Provenance
Private Canadian Collection.
Earle D. Vandekar of Knightsbridge

Condition
Good antique condition, with wear consistent with age and use; some light scratching and rubbing to the enamels of the shield.

Historical Context
The arms are those of the Chief of Grant, one of the great Highland clans of Strathspey. The crest, a mountain inflamed, represents Craigellachie, the "Rock of Alarm" on whose summit signal fires were lit to summon the clansmen; from this gathering place comes the clan’s war cry and motto, "Stand Fast, Craigellachie", abbreviated here on the ribbon beneath the shield. Armorial creamware of this kind was commissioned by Scottish and English families of rank to furnish the dinner table, the heraldry proclaiming lineage and allegiance to the guests.

The service was commissioned by Sir James Grant of Grant, 8th Baronet (1738–1811), the Highland landowner and Member of Parliament who founded Grantown-on-Spey. As recorded in the Seafield Manuscripts (National Records of Scotland) and set out in Barbara Horn’s study of the service, the order comprised more than 350 pieces supplied in 1782 at a cost of £80 16s, "painted with arms and crest in proper colours." Sir James’s choice of Neale & Co., a leading Staffordshire maker and a direct competitor of Josiah Wedgwood, reflects the factory’s standing for high-quality enameled creamware among the fashionable elite. James Neale took over Humphrey Palmer’s Church Works at Hanley about 1778, and under the styles Neale & Co. and later Neale & Wilson the firm produced creamware, black basalt and jasper of a quality to rival Wedgwood, whose neoclassical fashions it closely followed.

References
Barbara Horn, "The Neale & Co. Creamware Armorial Service for Sir James Grant of Grant," English Ceramic Circle Transactions, Vol. 20, Pt. 3 (2009).

T. A. Lockett and P. A. Halfpenny (eds.), Creamware and Pearlware, Northern Ceramic Society, 1986, p. 75, no. 53, for a plate from this service. See less