This is a beautiful Crown Derby plate made in about 1785. The very charming decoration of a puce putto is by Richard Askew.
The Derby Porcelain factory has its roots in the late 1740s, when Andrew Planché, a Walloon Huguenot refugee, started making simple porcelain toys shaped like animals in his back yard. In 1756 Staffordshire enameller William Duysbury and banker John Heath started a new porcelain factory with Planché and this was to grow out to the largest factory of its time, buying up the bankrupted Chelsea and Bow factories, as well as the stock of several other workshops including that of James Giles. The combination of various traditions, porcelain making skills and sophisticated clients enabled Duesbury to create one of the best porcelain factories of the 18th and 19th Centuries, which after many ups and downs is still operative today.
Richard Askew (ca 1730-1798) was one of the famous artists who came from Chelsea and then moved to Derby in about 1772. He didn't only work for Chelsea and Derby, but also worked on a freelance basis for many others, and there is evidence that he advertised himself all over Britain and Ireland as a miniature painter.
This plate is from about 1885, when Askew had relocated to London but still carried out many works for Derby. The plate has an interesting pattern that reminds you of the French-style "oeil de perdrix", although it actually consists of little roses. In the centre of the plate is a puce cherub or putto who seems to be busy talking to a pair of doves. The cherub is a typical chubby fellow the way Richard Askew was known to paint them.
CONDITION REPORT The plate is in excellent condition without any damage, repairs or crazing, and just some light wear on the face as visible in the pictures.
Antique British porcelain is never perfect. Kilns were fired on coal in the 1800s, and this meant that china from that period can have some firing specks from flying particles. British makers were also known for their experimentation, and sometimes this resulted in technically imperfect results. Due to the shrinkage in the kiln, items can have small firing lines or develop crazing over time, which should not be seen as damage but as an imperfection of the maker's recipes, probably unknown at the time of making. Items have often been used for many years and can have normal signs of wear, and gilt can have signs of slight disintegration even if never handled. I will reflect any damage, repairs, obvious stress marks, crazing or heavy wear in the item description but some minor scratches, nicks, stains and gilt disintegration can be normal for vintage items and need to be taken into account.
There is widespread confusion on the internet about the difference between chips and nicks, or hairlines and cracks. I will reflect any damage as truthfully as I can, i.e. a nick is a tiny bit of damage smaller than 1mm and a chip is something you can easily see with the eye; a glazing line is a break in the glazing only; hairline is extremely tight and/or superficial and not picked up by the finger; and a crack is obvious both to the eye and the finger. Etcetera - I try to be as accurate as I can and please feel free to ask questions or request more detailed pictures!
DIMENSIONS diameter 23cm (9").
Crown Derby plate, cherubs by Richard Askew, ca 1785
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