Antique Rathbone Ironstone Meat Platter Pekin Pattern Gaudy Willow variant 1840 - hand painted No. 1 and an impressed number 11 - 32 cm long

A very attractive antique medium sized ironstone meat plate or platter dating from around 1840. There are no maker's marks to identify a maker just a hand painted No. 1 and an impressed number 11. However this pattern is recorded as being made by the Rathbones of Tunstall, Staffordshire England, who operated from 1835 until 1843. Please see the Northern Ceramics Society newsletter number 200, April 2021, page 26 for the excellent article by Ian Harvey on Rathbone Earthenware and the Pekin Pattern.

The platter is 32 cms or 12 1/2 inches long and 10 1/8 inches (25.7 cm) wide and weighs 1133 grammes unpacked. It  has been printed in grey and hand coloured with bright enamels. It has a Chinese or chinoiserie pattern featuring a pagoda, figures on a bridge and flowers, blossom trees and a bird. It has an iron red border and a brown rim and is in very good antique condition with just a little rubbing or scratching to the enamels, commensurate with age and use. There are three small areas where the glaze has not fixed but this dates from manufacture. A very decorative plate for display or use.