This is a stunning set of 8 dessert plates made by Chamberlains Worcester in about 1815. The plates are decorated with a deep orange ground with "vermicelli" gilding and sublime paintings in the central reserves attributed to Humphrey Chamberlain.
The Chamberlain factory was founded in the 1780s by Robert Chamberlain, who was responsible for the decoration department in the famous Worcester pottery during the Dr Wall period. He set up his own factory with his son Humphrey, initially buying up stock from Turner's Caughley factory for decoration, but then around 1794 starting to produce their own porcelain. By the year 1800 they had built up a strong reputation, producing wonderful tea and dinner ware for the British and European nobility and becoming a mighty competitor of both the Worcester/Flight & Barr and Grainger factories. In the 1840s the factory merged back with Worcester, which later also bought Grainger and was formed into the later Royal Worcester.
These plates formed originally part of a much larger dessert service. The provenance of this service is a private American collection, which has seen regular visitors (and possibly users?) such as John F Kennedy and Iain Fleming.
The paintings in the central reserves are of sublime quality: named landscapes, flowers, birds and feathers. They are attributed to Humphrey Chamberlain, who was the nephew of Robert Chamberlain. Humphrey died at a relatively young ag (33 years old) and was one of the best painters at the factory - in fact his paintings are regarded on a par with those of Thomas Baxter, however often they are wrongly attributed to Baxter, who lived longer and therefore became more famous.
CONDITION REPORT The plates are in good condition. One plate has a crack, as visible in the pictures, but this is the only damage present. There is some wear throughout; some plates have more wear than others. A couple of plates have the gilt band around the central reserve touched up, which is barely visible. It is a mystery why only some have been touched up and others not. The whole set displays beautifully in spite of the minor flaws.
Antique British porcelain is never perfect. Kilns were fired on coal in the 1800s, 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 22cm (8.75") diameter.
Chamberlains Worcester set of 8 plates, orange with paintings, ca 1815
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