This is one of a pair of beautiful plates decorated by William Billingsley at the Mansfield studio between 1799 and 1802. The plates, manufactured by Coalport, have a pleasing slightly diapered shape. They were decorated with beautiful monochrome sepia flowers and a simple gilt rim by William Billingsley.
 
Please see separate listing for the matching plate; I would be happy to offer some discount if you interested in purchasing both plates.
 
William Billingsley was a brilliant but notoriously difficult man who left behind a trail of debts, broken hearts and mystery - but he was also one of the most important people in the history British porcelain. Billingsley revolutionised the way British decorators painted flowers; he added a freedom and artistry that now singles out British flower painting, and he created a new technique for painting roses, which you can see in this design. Billingsley trained and worked at Derby, and then started his own pottery at Pinxton. He then left to start a decorating studio at Mansfield, where he decorated wares from various potteries, among which Derby, Coalport, Whitehead and others. After that, he spent a period in Worcester, and then went to Wales where he set up a pottery in Nantgarw,  worked at the Swansea pottery for a while and  then returned to Nantgarw. While in Nantgarw he created some of the best porcelain ever made, but racking up great debts. He ended up running off in the dead of night and ending his days at Coalport painting flowers.
 
Items painted by William Billingsley are rare and very much in demand - together with Thomas Baxter's work they are probably among the most desired pieces of British porcelain.
 
The plate is marked with an impressed 7, the number associated with Billingsley. The attribution of this plate to William Billingsley is due to the fact that he painted nearly identical flowers on a Coalport jug, which is thought to be purchased by and decorated at Mansfield around the same time.
 
CONDITION REPORT The plate is in perfect antique condition without any damage, repairs or crazing, and only a few very minimal scratches.
 
Antique British porcelain is never perfect. Kilns were fired on coal in the 1700s, 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) 20.4cm (8").