Dropped shells
Dropped Shell shape
Lately several plates of an interesting shape found their way to me, through various channels. The plates you see here were made by several factories but they have one thing in common: the "dropped shell" or "inverted shell" shape. There is an interesting story to this.
This shape was made in Staffordshire around the year 1820 and for many years it was assumed that only one factory made them. But then research was done and actually there are quite a few slightly different ones by different factories. They were obviously all copying each other.
Different researchers tracked down pattern numbers and decoration styles, and Bill Thom put their findings together in his excellent book on the Machin factory. It turns out this shape was made by Machin, Samuel Alcock, Minton, possibly Rathbone, Ridgway and Hicks & Meigh. Some are identical and you have to work it out from the pattern number or the style; others are slightly different.
Needless to say, this sparks a lot of debate. I showed one to a very knowledgeable and respected friend and told him who I told made it, and he immediately strongly disagreed... so I guess the last word hasn't been said yet and I could be wrong about each and every one of these plates! 😂
In the slider above you will see plates by Samuel Alcock. New Hall and Machin. Some have already been snapped up and are on their way to their forever-home... congratulations to the new owners!
Sale! 💲🔔💰
Our January sale is still on until the end of Sunday, so have a look on our sale page!
Wish List ❤️
Don't forget, you can now create your own profile on the site and keep a wish list. Click on the Log In icon at the top right of each page.
Where to find things
You can find all my plates here, and all available items here. If you always want to see the latest additions, follow me on Instagram... I post pictures and a story every single day.
Happy weekend, and and when you set the table, drop some shells! 🐚🍽🐚
This week's new treasures:
