This bowl or soup-plate is of pearlware and is a rare example of Leeds ware that bears a factory mark.

Pearlware is a term that covers a wide range of wares and does not have an easily definable linear history. One view is that ‘pearlware’ was developed by Josiah Wedgwood and marketed in 1779. The ware he produced was basically a creamware body, modified to make it whiter by the inclusion of china clay, which was then covered with a glaze containing some china stone. Most importantly a small quantity of cobalt was added to the glaze, which gave it a blueish tint. It is this cobalt blue glaze over a whitish body which is regarded as the most distinctive feature of pearlware. Often the glaze can appear quite blue in areas where it has collected, such as around foot rings, or at the base of handles. Although technically ‘pearlware’ can be decorated in a number of ways the term is usually only used to refer to pieces decorated in underglaze blue.

This soup plate also shows the popular shell-edge pattern. This first appeared at the wedgwood factory in the 1770s following the contemporary fashion for shell ornament. The great advantage of the shell-edge for maker and consumer alike was that although the intaglio designs produced by the plate mould were minimal, the cobalt-blue painted onto the biscuit body tended to pool in the crevices and accentuate the design.