Antique Spode Pearlware Blue Transfer "Bird & Grasshopper" Chinoiserie Tree in the Well Meat Platter, Circa 1820

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Antique Spode Pearlware Blue Transfer "Bird & Grasshopper" Chinoiserie Tree in the Well Meat Platter, Circa 1820

A rare and … Read more Antique Spode Pearlware Blue Transfer "Bird & Grasshopper" Chinoiserie Tree in the Well Meat Platter, Circa 1820

A rare and thoroughly distinguished example of early 19th century Spode pearlware at its most accomplished and collectible, this magnificent blue transfer tree in the well meat platter in the exceptional "Bird & Grasshopper" chinoiserie pattern represents Spode production of the Regency period at its finest and most ambitious. Marked Spode on the reverse — firmly establishing its provenance as the work of one of England's most celebrated and historically significant ceramic manufacturers — this platter is a serious collector's piece of considerable rarity, beauty, and historical importance.
Spode, operating from their celebrated works in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, were the preeminent English ceramic manufacturers of the late 18th and early 19th centuries — credited with perfecting both blue transfer printing and bone china production — and their early pearlware transfer printed pieces are among the most actively sought and highly regarded objects in the entire canon of English ceramics collecting. A marked Spode tree in the well platter of this scale and in this relatively uncommon pattern is exactly the kind of piece that serious transferware collectors and Spode specialists actively seek.
The "Bird & Grasshopper" chinoiserie pattern is a wonderfully exotic and visually rich Regency period design — its intricate blue transfer decoration depicting birds, grasshoppers, and lush botanical elements in the romantic chinoiserie vocabulary that Spode's finest engravers executed with such extraordinary skill and delicacy in the opening decades of the 19th century. The pattern covers the broad well and generous border of this impressive platter with remarkable density and decorative richness, the deep cobalt blue transfer playing beautifully against the cool blue-white luminosity of the pearlware body in the way that only the finest early Spode transfer printing could achieve.
At 20¼ by 15½ inches and 2½ inches in depth this is a generously and impressively proportioned tree in the well meat platter — large enough to have graced the grandest Regency dining table with considerable authority, and large enough today to command immediate attention displayed on a dresser, sideboard, or wall. The tree in the well form — with its characteristic raised ridges channeling meat juices toward the well — is executed with the confident, well-proportioned craftsmanship that defines Spode's finest early 19th century output.
A large chip on the reverse of the platter is honestly noted — entirely invisible from the front display surface and doing nothing whatsoever to diminish the platter's considerable decorative presence and visual impact. All additional wear and use marks are honest and consistent with the platter's more than two centuries of domestic life. The Spode mark on the reverse is clearly present and confirms the attribution with authority.
An exceptional and genuinely rare piece of documented Spode pearlware transferware that belongs in a serious collection of early English ceramics.
Dimensions: 20.25"L × 15.5"W × 2.5"H
Type: Pearlware blue transfer tree in the well meat platter
Pattern: Bird & Grasshopper — chinoiserie
Maker: Spode, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire — clearly marked
Origin: England, Circa 1820
Condition: Large chip on reverse — not visible from front display surface; wear and use marks consistent with age See less