Antique Pair Very Rare Black Ironstone Transferware Plates From The Early 1800 ' S
Item History & Price
ANTIQUE ~ Pair of Rare Black Ironstone Transfer Ware Plates ~ from the early 1800's (7-3/4 inches)
From the Estate of a Discerning Collector
I believe these plates are from the Early 1800's - 200 Years Old!
First there are no markings on the back of these plates. Not all ironstone is marked. Very old ironstone made before 1813 may not be marked.Early on, as the technology was being learned, placement errors would be numerous, akin to mismatched wall paper. In other words, piec...es of the artwork would not line up perfectly. These plates have the same Transferware image in the center and on the borders, however if you look closely, you will notice that the images on the border are in a slightly different position on each plate - confirming the early placement error. Having the two nearly identical plates to compare this placement error makes this pair of plates even more rare.
Plate #1: has a small chip on the rim at the 2 o'clock position and has heavy discoloration on the back that is common for plates of this age. It also has a couple of very tiny chips on the back side of the plate along the inner ridge. Chips have been circled in photos. this plate also has a small amount of glaze loss on the inside of the border. (See arrows in photo.)
Plate #2: has a larger chip at between the 2 o'clock position and the 3 o'clock position and two tiny chips on the back side of the plate along the inner rim. This plate also appears to have a surface crack in the glaze on the border between the 1 o'clock and 2 o'clock position. (See arrow in photo.)
Please take a good look at all the photos and enlarge them to see any defects. The chips and surface crack have been noted in the photos.
These antique plates will be very carefully packaged and shipped via USPS Priority Mail.THANKS FOR STOPPING BY
NOTES: The first (and still most popular) color of English Transferware was blue; later came brown, black, purple, green and red. The lush botanicals and melancholic vignettes that factories produced in these colors reflected the very Romanticism that was England's rebuttal to the Factory Age itself! Although more blue was produced than other colors, colored Transferware became popular in America in the 1830s and was exported in red, pink, purple, cranberry, brown, black, green, yellow, gray and various combinations of these colors. Pottery decorated Transferware was developed in England from the 1750s on, and in the 19th century became enormously popular in England, though relatively little used in other major pottery-producing countries. The bulk of production was from the dominant Staffordshire Pottery Industry. America was a major market for English transfer-printed wares, whose imagery was adapted to the American market; several makers made this almost exclusively.
Transferware is a style of decorated china created to sell to the emerging middle class of the Industrial Revolution in England. First produced in the late 1700s, the style caught on and has remained popular since the early 1800s. Before the transferware technique was developed, porcelain china was hand painted and very expensive. The new technique made beautiful dishware affordable for the middle and working class.Transferware is made with ironstone china, developed by Miles Mason in the 1780s and patented by his son, Charles James Mason, in 1813. Made of ironstone slag, flit, Cornish stone, and clay; ironstone is heavier and thicker than porcelain and much more durable. A hand-engraved copper plate was used to print designs on paper. The printed paper was pressed, pigment side down, on the item to be decorated. The paper was then floated off in water or burned off in the kiln. The result is a beautiful, often intricate design.Most Transferware features a white background with a one-color pattern. Blue on white is the classic traditional color combination. Another color could be added by hand or by means of another transfer. Images include landscapes, animals, architecture, and florals. The romantic themes on this beautiful dishware were popular as the West moved into the Industrial Revolution.The Victorians were fascinated with foreign places and especially interested in areas outside Europe. Many early Transferware patterns show scenes from what they called "the Orient, " meaning places to the east of Europe. Popular early themes featured images of the Middle East, India, and China. During the early Victorian era, traveling artists created beautiful illustrations of far off places. Photography had not been invented yet, so these illustrations offered people in the West images of the "Orient." Traveling artists could fund their excursions by publishing illustrations of foreign scenes. Others accompanied wealthy travelers to create souvenir drawings of their travels. Potters copied entire illustrations, parts of illustrations, or mash-ups of several illustrations for Transferware china.
From the Estate of a Discerning Collector
I believe these plates are from the Early 1800's - 200 Years Old!
First there are no markings on the back of these plates. Not all ironstone is marked. Very old ironstone made before 1813 may not be marked.Early on, as the technology was being learned, placement errors would be numerous, akin to mismatched wall paper. In other words, piec...es of the artwork would not line up perfectly. These plates have the same Transferware image in the center and on the borders, however if you look closely, you will notice that the images on the border are in a slightly different position on each plate - confirming the early placement error. Having the two nearly identical plates to compare this placement error makes this pair of plates even more rare.
Plate #1: has a small chip on the rim at the 2 o'clock position and has heavy discoloration on the back that is common for plates of this age. It also has a couple of very tiny chips on the back side of the plate along the inner ridge. Chips have been circled in photos. this plate also has a small amount of glaze loss on the inside of the border. (See arrows in photo.)
Plate #2: has a larger chip at between the 2 o'clock position and the 3 o'clock position and two tiny chips on the back side of the plate along the inner rim. This plate also appears to have a surface crack in the glaze on the border between the 1 o'clock and 2 o'clock position. (See arrow in photo.)
Please take a good look at all the photos and enlarge them to see any defects. The chips and surface crack have been noted in the photos.
These antique plates will be very carefully packaged and shipped via USPS Priority Mail.THANKS FOR STOPPING BY
NOTES: The first (and still most popular) color of English Transferware was blue; later came brown, black, purple, green and red. The lush botanicals and melancholic vignettes that factories produced in these colors reflected the very Romanticism that was England's rebuttal to the Factory Age itself! Although more blue was produced than other colors, colored Transferware became popular in America in the 1830s and was exported in red, pink, purple, cranberry, brown, black, green, yellow, gray and various combinations of these colors. Pottery decorated Transferware was developed in England from the 1750s on, and in the 19th century became enormously popular in England, though relatively little used in other major pottery-producing countries. The bulk of production was from the dominant Staffordshire Pottery Industry. America was a major market for English transfer-printed wares, whose imagery was adapted to the American market; several makers made this almost exclusively.
Transferware is a style of decorated china created to sell to the emerging middle class of the Industrial Revolution in England. First produced in the late 1700s, the style caught on and has remained popular since the early 1800s. Before the transferware technique was developed, porcelain china was hand painted and very expensive. The new technique made beautiful dishware affordable for the middle and working class.Transferware is made with ironstone china, developed by Miles Mason in the 1780s and patented by his son, Charles James Mason, in 1813. Made of ironstone slag, flit, Cornish stone, and clay; ironstone is heavier and thicker than porcelain and much more durable. A hand-engraved copper plate was used to print designs on paper. The printed paper was pressed, pigment side down, on the item to be decorated. The paper was then floated off in water or burned off in the kiln. The result is a beautiful, often intricate design.Most Transferware features a white background with a one-color pattern. Blue on white is the classic traditional color combination. Another color could be added by hand or by means of another transfer. Images include landscapes, animals, architecture, and florals. The romantic themes on this beautiful dishware were popular as the West moved into the Industrial Revolution.The Victorians were fascinated with foreign places and especially interested in areas outside Europe. Many early Transferware patterns show scenes from what they called "the Orient, " meaning places to the east of Europe. Popular early themes featured images of the Middle East, India, and China. During the early Victorian era, traveling artists created beautiful illustrations of far off places. Photography had not been invented yet, so these illustrations offered people in the West images of the "Orient." Traveling artists could fund their excursions by publishing illustrations of foreign scenes. Others accompanied wealthy travelers to create souvenir drawings of their travels. Potters copied entire illustrations, parts of illustrations, or mash-ups of several illustrations for Transferware china.
