This is a stunning and extremely rare plate made by Derby between about 1795 and 1800. The plate has a nice ribbed rim with a delicate gilt pattern, and a stunning monochrome sepia hunting scene showing a dog chasing a pheasant, held in an octagonal gilt band. The scene was painted by John Brewer, one of the most celebrated painters at Derby. This plate is extremely rare as Brewer didn't usually paint in monochrome sepia, and he also didn't usually paint hunting scenes; he specialised in full colour flowers and beautiful mountain scenery.
The Derby Porcelain factory has its roots in the late 1740s, when Andrew Planché, a Walloon Huguenot refugee, started making simple porcelain toys shaped like animals in his back yard. In 1756 Staffordshire enameller William Duysbury and banker John Heath started a new porcelain factory with Planché and this was to grow out to the largest factory of its time, buying up the bankrupted Chelsea and Bow factories, as well as the stock of several other workshops including that of James Giles. The combination of various traditions, porcelain making skills and sophisticated clients enabled Duesbury to create one of the best porcelain factories of the 18th and 19th Centuries, which after many ups and downs is still operative today.
John Brewer came to work at Derby in 1795 and worked there until his death in 1816. Together with his brother Robert, he was among the best painters at Derby, famous for his very fine landscapes and botanical studies. The brothers came from a well-known family of artists in London, but as the art scene became more crowded in the late 18thC, they chose to explore new avenues. It is said that John, who had never painted on porcelain, switched from being a water colourist to a porcelain painter within one week; a feat that had never been seen before as painting on porcelain is extremely difficult. It is worth carefully studying the brush strokes of this painting; they are extremely fine, and Brewer also scratched away some paint to add additional texture to the painting.
The plate is marked in gold with the Derby crown mark.
CONDITION REPORT The plate is in excellent antique condition without any damage, repairs or crazing, and only some minimal rubbing as visible in the pictures.
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 (diameter) 23cm (9").
