The magnificence of Staffordshire Spode pottery comes to the fore in an incredibly rare bone china plate dating back to the early 1800s.
The Shepherdess pattern arcaded dessert plate, circa 1825, is one of only a handful of known examples recorded from, possibly, a one-off collaborative service between Spode and Andrew Stevenson. Stevenson, born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs, in 1780, later sailed to America and took his Staffordshire Potteries heritage with him. He set up a ceramics shop in New York.
The plate, described by Hansons ceramics expert Dr Richard Halliday as ‘a superb piece’ and ‘incredibly rare
, will be included in Hansons’ June 9 Curated and Connoisseur Ceramics Auction at Bishton Hall, Staffs, estimate £200-£400.
Spode, founded in Stoke by Josiah Spode in 1770, perfected two important techniques that were crucial to the worldwide success of the English pottery industry.
Josiah (1733–1797) perfected the technique for transfer printing in underglaze blue on fine earthenware in 1784 – a development that led to the launch in 1816 of Spode’s Blue Italian range. This has remained in production ever since. Around 1790, Josiah is also credited with developing the formula for fine bone china that was generally adopted by the industry.
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