Dessert Plate
ca. 1820 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
In the early 19th century English pottery and porcelain dinner services entirely superseded those imported from China. As before, large numbers of plates and dishes were required. Increasingly these plates were modelled on silverware, with wavy and heavily-moulded rims.
Collectors & Owners
This is one plate from a service that was acquired by the V&A from Miss H. M. Gulson, who had inherited it from her uncle, Josiah Spode IV (1823-1893). Although the V&A wished to accept only a token number of pieces because of the impossibility of displaying the service in its entirety, eventually it agreed to take all of them rather than destroy the integrity of a documentary service. Since 1902 the service has largely remained in store, although parts have in recent years been loaned to 10 Downing Street. The British Galleries now provide a fitting permanent display of the many different shapes used in the service.
The family provenance suggests that the service represents the grandest and most opulent porcelain made at the factory at Stoke-on-Trent in the last years of the Spode family's ownership. The factory archives reveal that the moulded shape 'Royal Embossed' was first made about 1831, a date that exactly agrees with the introduction of this service's painted pattern (no. 4964). It would seem, therefore, that Josiah Spode IV, who was only eight years old in 1831, may have inherited it at a later date from his father, Josiah Spode III.
In the early 19th century English pottery and porcelain dinner services entirely superseded those imported from China. As before, large numbers of plates and dishes were required. Increasingly these plates were modelled on silverware, with wavy and heavily-moulded rims.
Collectors & Owners
This is one plate from a service that was acquired by the V&A from Miss H. M. Gulson, who had inherited it from her uncle, Josiah Spode IV (1823-1893). Although the V&A wished to accept only a token number of pieces because of the impossibility of displaying the service in its entirety, eventually it agreed to take all of them rather than destroy the integrity of a documentary service. Since 1902 the service has largely remained in store, although parts have in recent years been loaned to 10 Downing Street. The British Galleries now provide a fitting permanent display of the many different shapes used in the service.
The family provenance suggests that the service represents the grandest and most opulent porcelain made at the factory at Stoke-on-Trent in the last years of the Spode family's ownership. The factory archives reveal that the moulded shape 'Royal Embossed' was first made about 1831, a date that exactly agrees with the introduction of this service's painted pattern (no. 4964). It would seem, therefore, that Josiah Spode IV, who was only eight years old in 1831, may have inherited it at a later date from his father, Josiah Spode III.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Bone china, painted in enamels and gilt |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label | British Galleries:
PART OF A DINNER SERVICE About 1820; numbers 30-34, 1831 This large service is characteristic of the extensive and richly decorated porcelain that was available to an increasingly wide range of buyers during this period. Marketing through London showrooms played an important role in the selling of such ensembles. Massed displays were a familiar sight to the visiting public as in the Wedgwood showroom illustrated on the left.(27/03/2003) |
| Credit line | Given by Miss H.M. Gulson |
| Object history | Part of a service (568 to 591-1902) acquired by the V&A from Miss H. M. Gulson, who had inherited it from her uncle, Josiah Spode IV (1823-1893). Although the V&A wished to accept only a token number of pieces because of the impossibility of displaying the service in its entirety, eventually it agreed to take all of them rather than destroy the integrity of a documentary service. The family provenance suggests that the service represents the grandest and most opulent porcelain made at the factory at Stoke-on-Trent in the last years of the Spode family's ownership. The factory archives reveal that the moulded shape 'Royal Embossed' was first made about 1831, a date that exactly agrees with the introduction of this service's painted pattern (no. 4964). It would seem, therefore, that Josiah Spode IV, who was only eight years old in 1831, may have inherited it at a later date from his father, Josiah Spode III. According to a letter from Miss Gulson in 1902, the dessert services in the gift were made for the marriage of Josiah Spode III and his wife Mary Williamson. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Object Type In the early 19th century English pottery and porcelain dinner services entirely superseded those imported from China. As before, large numbers of plates and dishes were required. Increasingly these plates were modelled on silverware, with wavy and heavily-moulded rims. Collectors & Owners This is one plate from a service that was acquired by the V&A from Miss H. M. Gulson, who had inherited it from her uncle, Josiah Spode IV (1823-1893). Although the V&A wished to accept only a token number of pieces because of the impossibility of displaying the service in its entirety, eventually it agreed to take all of them rather than destroy the integrity of a documentary service. Since 1902 the service has largely remained in store, although parts have in recent years been loaned to 10 Downing Street. The British Galleries now provide a fitting permanent display of the many different shapes used in the service. The family provenance suggests that the service represents the grandest and most opulent porcelain made at the factory at Stoke-on-Trent in the last years of the Spode family's ownership. The factory archives reveal that the moulded shape 'Royal Embossed' was first made about 1831, a date that exactly agrees with the introduction of this service's painted pattern (no. 4964). It would seem, therefore, that Josiah Spode IV, who was only eight years old in 1831, may have inherited it at a later date from his father, Josiah Spode III. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 591:29-1902 |
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| Record created | May 23, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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