[click the < arrows > to slide!] I have a special weakness for beautiful sets of plates... Not long ago I had a beautiful dessert service made by Ridgway with stunning botanical paintings, and it was sold within hours. So I felt very lucky to come across the stunning Coalport service with similarly amazing flowers - and again it was sold within hours! But because it is so beautiful, I will still show you its beauty. I am saying dessert service - but actually I should say "par

[click the < arrows > to slide!] I am sometimes asked: what is the difference between "tooled" gilt and "raised" gilt? And what about "chased" gilt? The simple answer is: they are all the same. Perhaps a professional gilder will disagree, but then I'd love to hear in detail what the difference is, as I have not been able to find out myself! Today we have a stunning piece of art: a vase in the Persian Revival style with a tooled/chased/raised gilt image of a very English spoon

[click the < arrows > to slide!] It is autumn here, and all colours are changing fast... on my desk is a vase with beautiful chrysanthemums and the last of the hydrangeas in my garden. Today I am showing a dessert service by Minton, decorated with superb chrysanthemums and raised gilt. This service was made in 1894 to the highest specifications. The plates are simple and made of very white, beautifully smooth bone china. But the decoration! The chrysanthemums were painted by

[click the < arrows > to slide!] Today is the first Saturday of October, and where I live it is getting cold now. Mornings are dark, and we are all cozying up in the evening to hide from the wind and the rain. It is the beginning of a season of cozy dinners, and I will bring out a dinner or dessert service each Saturday in the coming period. I've also heard some sighs at the price of some of these... well yes, I have quite a few in my collection that I personally would not be

[click the < arrows > to slide!] After some time away, it is refreshing to be back in my stock room and clear out some items that have been waiting to be highlighted. So Today something that is not up to my usual standard, but entirely adorable: a set of plates made by Minton in 1863. It is worn and beaten up and has a wonderful staple repair, but I could not resist it when I found it - and I believe it deserves to be seen! In the early 19th Century "bat printing" became a po

The last time I had items in this "Rich Imari" or "Crazy Japan" pattern I confused two very similar patterns, so now that I have a cup in this pattern again, I am taking the opportunity to set the record straight - and thank you to one of my faithful Instagram followers for sharing their expertise with me - I love learning from my followers! The Prince Regent was the son of King George III, who was mentally ill and not fit to reign. Not that his sons were much fitter - but th

These two vases with covers are a sublime piece of artistry. They were made by Royal Worcester in 1907. The late Victorians and Edwardians really loved their vases and I have shown several lately (and some more to come!). They were meant to be centre pieces in the interiors of beautiful homes, showing off the owner's wealth but also refining people's taste. The Victorians had a keen sense that the home would make the person, and therefore it was essential to create beautiful

I've been looking at very crafty imitations of Swansea items this week. Swansea and Nantgarw were two factories in Wales in the very early 19th Century, and they made some of the most beautiful porcelain ever made. The local Welsh clay was unique, but it was also very costly to work with: the best quality had a kiln waste of 90%, meaning that only 1 in 10 items would come out of the kiln in a usable state! The Welsh factories also had some of the best flower painters, who cre

A while ago I showed the two beautiful Minton figures of Miranda and Lalage in celadon "parian" china, and last week I showed the stunning Copeland potpourri vases with parian cherubs. Today I have another one of these wonderful parian porcelain items: a Minton tazza, again made of white and celadon parian china, this time fully glazed. Parian china was difficult and expensive to make; it needed a special machine to create the slip, and mixing in the colour for the celadon ma

You will have seen sculpted putti, or cherubs, like these before, and here is the story of how these were made. They were made of parian porcelain, which was the invention of Thomas Battam, the Art Director of Copeland (formerly Spode). He wanted to make figures with more definition, like the German and French factories were able to make. As soon as he had presented his new invention to the world in 1844, Minton copied it. They became the more famous maker of parian figures;