This is a beautiful plate made by Barr Flight & Barr in around 1810. The plate is decorated with a gilt vermiculé (or vermicelli) border, and a stunning central reserve of a beautiful sea shell on a brown ground, with little corals and some seaweed around it.
Barr Flight & Barr was the continuation of the famous Worcester Porcelain Company. In fact the factory went through various partnerships and names, most of which involved either the name Barr, Flight, or both (or double!). This confusing period in the factory's existence is often called the "Flight & Barr" period. Eventually the factory absorbed some of its spin-offs and was turned into the Royal Worcester, which became very famous in the late 19th and 20th Centuries. During the late 18th and entire 19th Century they were among the leaders of china production, producing exceptionally finely painted and sculpted forms.
The plate is marked with the impressed BFB mark.
PROVENANCE: Lord and Lady Flight Collection - this means that until recently, this plate has been in the possession of the Flight family ever since production.
CONDITION REPORT The plate is in perfect antique condition without any damage, repairs or crazing, and only some knife scratches and rubbing as visible in the pictures. Please note that in the pictures you can see both the detail of the painting and the wear with more clarity than with the naked eye in normal light; with special lighting and a magnifying glass the full detail becomes visible.
Antique British porcelain is never perfect. Kilns were fired on coal, and this meant that china from that period can have some firing specks from flying particles. British makers were also known for their experimentation, and sometimes this resulted in technically imperfect results. Due to the shrinkage in the kiln, items can have small firing lines or develop crazing over time, which should not be seen as damage but as an imperfection of the maker's recipes, probably unknown at the time of making. Items have often been used for many years and can have normal signs of wear, and gilt can have signs of slight disintegration even if never handled. I will reflect any damage, repairs, obvious stress marks, crazing or heavy wear in the item description but some minor scratches, nicks, stains and gilt disintegration can be normal for vintage items and need to be taken into account.
There is widespread confusion on the internet about the difference between chips and nicks, or hairlines and cracks. I will reflect any damage as truthfully as I can, i.e. a nick is a tiny bit of damage smaller than 1mm and a chip is something you can easily see with the eye; a glazing line is a break in the glazing only; hairline is extremely tight and/or superficial and not picked up by the finger; and a crack is obvious both to the eye and the finger. Etcetera - I try to be as accurate as I can and please feel free to ask questions or request more detailed pictures!
DIMENSIONS 20.7cm (8.15").
