Object Type
The lobed boder, elaborate enamelled decoation and lavish use of gilding all suggest that this dish was used for serving stewed or fresh fruit during the dessert course of a grand meal.

Materials & Making
The Chelsea porcelain factory announced the 'Mazarine' blue ground used here in 1756. Although this was described as 'inimitable' in an advertisement of 1761, it was itself an imitation, inspired by the dark gros bleu colour of the Royal French porcelain factory at Sèvres. The glaze used at Chelsea during the 1760s was frequently thick, as here, and is now often 'crazed' (riddled with fine cracks). The Chelsea porcelain body was not hard wearing and was best suited to light or ornamental use.

Trading
The Chelsea factory aimed for the top end of the market. It sold its wares from the factory site, from factory-run warehouses in the West End of London, through London ceramic dealers, and at auctions held in London, Dublin in Ireland, and probably elsewhere. A sale of Chelsea porcelain held in London in 1770 included a dessert service that was probably similar to this piece. This comprised 'seventeen dishes and compoteers [bowls for stewed fruit], and twenty-four plates of the rich mazarine blue and gold' and was sold for £134 4s. In the mid-18th century shopkeepers and skilled craftsmen might earn around £1 a week.