HISTORY:
Yet more of our beloved, collected Meakin chinaware's, this piece was bought by us back in the 1980's from a deceased estate.
The major factors that influenced our buying at the time were the square plate shape, hand crafted decoration and the backstamp which clearly locks the piece in a significant period of time for J & G Meakin.
J & G MEAKIN - Side Plate (1)
Shape: square with indented corners and a scalloped rim
Trade Name: SOL Centenary Series
Circa 1951
Translucent Bone China
Opaque china, meaning that when it is held to a strong light source, you cannot see the shadow of your fingers through the chinaware
Hand decorated
The base colouring of the side plate is a J & G Meakin typical cream colour, with three separate decorations around the outer edges of the plate.
Pattern (name unknown and not indicated on the backstamp) comprises three arrangements of mixed flowers, the largest of the artwork also has a Blue ribbon in the design.
DIMENSIONS:
145mm x 145mm square
BACKSTAMP DETAILS:
Dark Grey printed ink under the glaze - see the photograph below.
The mark which is off to the side of the backstamp is the artist's mark
COSMETIC CONDITION:
The following description primarily applies to both of the side plates we have left ... any differences of note are separately mentioned below
CLEAN
NO cracks
NO discolouration to the base colouring (Cream)
NO decoration colour degradation or marks/scratching of any significance
NO damage to the Gold gilding around the scalloped rim edge
NO crazing observed (Wet or Dry) to either plate
One side plate has NO fleabites, the other has two small fleabites on the underside
The heavy Gold gilding is in very good condition with no signs of handling or washing wear
One side plate has NO topside spots or marks at all although on the rim, in one very small spot on the edge of the rim, I can see a very light Brown colouring - this could be breakdown of the glaze in that area, causing the clay underneath to become contaminated at some time in the last 70 years!
The other side plate does have 2 small 'dots' on the topside, looking closely I can see these are coloured. Perhaps accidents by the decoration artist? No idea but I cannot remove them (probably under the glaze). I also saw another little dot on the underside but this is most definitely a tiny splatter of Gold, it can clearly be seen with a magnifying glass.
Overall, either of these plates are in extremely good condition when it is considered these left the works just after THE War and have lasted more than 70 years in this condition - amazing. What's even more amazing is the fact that a long long time ago, a young lady (most likely) held this piece in her hand and carefully created the decorations - brings a tingle to the spine!
