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

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

Dimensions: 13-3/4 inches across by 10-3/4 inches … Read more Creamware Armorial Dish,
Neale & Co,
Sir James Grant of Grant,
Circa 1780

Dimensions: 13-3/4 inches across by 10-3/4 inches wide

This elegant oval platter is a rare and historically significant example of late 18th-century English creamware. It hails from an extensive dinner service commissioned by Sir James Grant of Grant, 8th Baronet (1738-1811), a prominent Scottish landowner and Member of Parliament.

Made by the renowned Staffordshire pottery firm Neale & Co. (active c. 1778-1792) around 1782, the platter showcases the full armorial bearings of the Grant family. The intricate enamel decoration features a red shield with three golden antique crowns (Gules, three antique crowns Or), supported by two "savages proper." Above the shield, and repeated at the platter's rim, is the clan's crest: a burning mountain (a mountain inflamed proper), symbolic of their historic rallying cry, "CRAIG ELACHIE."

The commission of this elaborate service by Sir James Grant underscores his considerable wealth and status, as he chose one of England's leading ceramic manufacturers, a direct competitor to Josiah Wedgwood, to produce this fashionable and high-quality "Queen's Ware."

The history of this remarkable service is meticulously documented. Ceramics historian Barbara Horn published an authoritative article on the subject, titled "The Neale & Co. Creamware Armorial Service for Sir James Grant of Grant," in the English Ceramic Circle (ECC) Transactions, Volume 20, Part 3, published in 2009. Horn's research drew heavily from original accounts and invoices found within the Seafield Manuscripts, housed in the National Archives of Scotland. These documents confirm the service's immense scale, detailing over 350 pieces supplied in May 1782, all "painted with arms and crest in proper colours," for a total cost of £80 16s.

This platter not only represents the pinnacle of Neale & Co.'s artistic and technical capabilities but also provides a tangible link to the social customs and heraldic traditions of late Georgian Britain.

Reference: See Creamware & Pearlware: The Fifth Exhibition from the Northern Ceramic Society. An Exhibition on Show 18 May- 7 September 1986, The Stoke-on-Trent Museum and Art Gallery. Edited T.A. Lockett and P.A. Halfpenny. Page 75, #53 for a plate dated 1780.

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