This is a wonderful dessert service made by Miles Mason between 1813 and 1820. It is made of Patent Ironstone China, decorated in the "Rock and Rose Japan" pattern and it consists of a five serving dishes and ten plates.
Miles Mason started making porcelain in the 1790s, when porcelain imports from China ceased and there was a need for British-made porcelain. In the early 19th Century he purchased the patent for "ironstone" china from the Turner brothers and in 1813 he launched his "Mason't Patent Ironstone China". This was a china body that strictly speaking was earthenware, but as strong as porcelain and looking more like the porcelain that had been imported from China, than bone china. Ironstone china was cheaper to produce and its blueish hue was excellent for the Chinoiserie decorations that were still popular. The new middle class, sprung up with the Industrial Revolution, could not afford the expensive hand painted bone china table sets yet and they were also quite attached to the Chinese style of decorating. Mason saw the opportunity and started supplying huge amounts of dinner and dessert services to the new industrialists. Soon, all other potters started imitating him by bringing out their own "stone china' bodies, each with a slightly different name.
This dessert service has the typical and wonderful leaf-shaped serving dishes and simple round plates. It is decorated in a style typical for the earlier Mason's ironstone china: a hand painted imitation of Japanese patterns called "Rock and Rose Japan"; you can see the roses with the rock in the foreground, as well as a fence running through the garden scene. The pattern is similar to patterns that can be found on Chinese and Japanese import porcelain from the 18th Century. The basic colours are typical for Japanese designs: iron red, cobalt blue and gilt.
All items are marked either with the imprinted "Mason's Patent Ironstone China" or simply "Patent Ironstone China".
CONDITION REPORT The service is in perfect antique condition without any damage, repairs or crazing and there is only some rubbing to the gilt 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 One dish is 24 X 20.5cm (9.5" X 8"); two dishes are 28.5 X 19cm (11.25" X 7.5"); two dishes are 28 X 19cm (11" X 7.5") and the plates are 20.5cm (8") diameter.
SHIPPING I ship worldwide from the UK. I am happy to combine shipping charges on multiple items - please contact me to discuss. In principle I do not make a profit on shipping although for simplicity's sake I charge flat shipping fees. If the fee charged greatly exceeds the actual cost I will gladly refund you the difference - at the same time if it is slightly lower I will gladly make up the difference. Please note that due to the pandemic shipping costs have generally gone up steeply, and although I use only the most reliable couriers, there can sometimes be some delays.
Mason's Patent Ironstone China dessert service, Rock and Rose Japan, 1813-1820
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