This is a stunning oval dessert dish made by Coalport in about 1847. The dish has a pierced rim, a beige and finely gilded ground and a beautifully hand painted apple painted by the famous painter Joseph Birbeck.
Coalport was one of the leading potters in 19th and 20th Century Staffordshire. They worked alongside other great potters such as Spode, Davenport and Minton, and came out with many innovative designs. When we say "Coalport" we usually think of the one Coalport factory that became famous, but in its beginning years there were two factories, one run by John Rose and the other by his brother Thomas Rose. Thomas Rose went into partnership with Robert Anstice and Robert Horton and they were located directly opposite John Rose, across the canal. The brothers' factories had much in common with each other and they shared many different shapes and patterns. Ultimately, the John Rose factory proved more profitable and John Rose bought Thomas' factory in 1814, making it the one Coalport factory that became so famous. Many of the Coalport items, of either factory, are now collectors' items.
Joseph Birbeck was born in Worcester in 1798 and, being born to a potting family, he started working for Chamberlain's at a very young age and ended up working his entire adult life at Coalport. Birbeck was most known for his very fine and subtle fruit paintings, such as on this beautiful dish. By the time Birbeck painted the dessert service that this plate belonged to, he would have been the foreman of the painting department at Coalport. Birbeck's style of fruit painting was contemporary and closely related to that of Jabey Aston, who painted slightly more dramatically, and William Cooke, who tended to paint more complex compositions.
The dish is unmarked, as is common for this period, but it has the pattern number 5/454 written on the underside, which dates it to about 1847.
An example of a very similar painting by Birbeck can be found in plate 107, page 159 of Michael Messenger's book "Coalport 1795-1926".
CONDITION REPORT The dish is in perfect antique condition without any damage, repairs, crazing or even rubbing.
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 30.2cm X 21cm (11.75" X 8.25") and 5.5cm (2.25") high.
Coalport oval dish, beige with hand painted apple by Joseph Birbeck, ca 1847
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