This is a beautiful shell dish made by H&R Daniel in 1827. The dish was potted in the "Shrewsbury" shape and bears pattern no. 4214 with beautiful hand painted flower reserves on a bright pink ground. The dish is formed like a shell, with one handle in the shape of a shell with moulded vines around it, all picked out in gilt. Shell dishes formed part of a dessert service and were designed so that guests could easily pass a wet dessert, such as trifle, along the table to serve themselves. A dessert service would have had two, four or six of these depending on the number of place settings.
We have several items available in this pattern or very similar ones, please see second image and separate listings.
This dish is sold As Found (A/F) as it has some damage, which is reflected in the price.
The H & R Daniel porcelain factory was founded by Henry Daniel, son of a family of master colour makers. He headed up the decoration department in the famous Spode factory where he oversaw all the beautiful early Spode decorations. In 1822 he opened his own factory with his son Richard, creating a truly iconic body of work with the most subtle colours and beautifully painted flowers and landscapes.
The Daniel factory was the last true cottage industry among the English porcelain factories, resisting the increase of industrialisation and mass production. This resulted in extraordinary and unrivalled quality, but it probably also led to the factory having to close its doors in 1846 because it could no longer compete with others who did modernise. Daniel porcelain can be hard to identify as the factory was only around for about two decades, but this short duration and the low output also means that Daniel items have become true collectors' items.
This dish was potted in the "Shrewsbury" shape, which was used between 1827 and 1836. It is a beautiful shape named after the Earl of Shrewsbury, who first ordered a service in this shape in 1826.
Provenance: Beardmore Collection. The dish is unmarked and bears the pattern number but no collector's label; however, it came together with several other dishes that do, which is how we know its provenance.
CONDITION REPORT The dish is in good condition, however it has some wear and is crazed, and has a crack through the centre. It is not suitable for wet foods anymore, but is entirely stable and good for use with dry foods.
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 (diameters): 23cm (9") X 22cm (8.5").
H&R Daniel Shrewsbury shell dish, pink, flowers, patt. 4214, 1827 (3) A/F
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We always aim to have happy customers so if you have an issue with or questions about your item, please contact us and we will do anything we can to resolve the issue with you!