R.H & S.L Plant (established 1900) produced pieces of New Chelsea from around 1912 but production was interrupted by the War effort and all that entailed for English pottery works. After the War, in 1945, the New Chelsea tradename was back in use and continued until the early 1950's
Product from R.H & S.L Plant was known for the high quality product and workmanship, or to be more politically correct "skilled workperson" although a high percentage of product in the pottery works was decorated by women.
It is no accident that a few years later, in the mid 1960's, R.H & S.L Plant was purchased by Wedgwood, bringing another high quality porcelain maker into the Wedgwood "fold"
Actually there is a LOT of New Chelsea china product to be found online, most of the pieces are very beautiful and visually "exciting to the senses"
This piece of New Chelsea is from the early 1930's, it has been hand decorated, painting and gilded, crafts that have substantially vanished with contemporary products. In fact the raised painting technique has been used so that the plate has a 3D feel to it because of the raised decorative work.
An extremely "traditional" artwork design, the War had only been "finished with" 5 years earlier and chinaware designs tended to portray "peace and tranquility" - you can't get more peaceful than posies of flowers!
DLAT Rating: 9.5/10 (Darling Look At This!)
NEW CHELSEA - Side Plate (1) ONLY
R.H & S.L Plant
Made in Longton, Staffordshire - Britain
Fine Bone China
Circa 1930's (based on the backstamp design)
Design/pattern: not indicated on the plate
Bright White translucent fine china, meaning that when it is held to the light you can easily see the shadow of your hand through the chinaware
Hand painted and gilded
Vibrant, strong colours depicting a series of small posies comprising Red Roses with Blue & Green foliage, all being of the same size.
Of course, being hand painted, close examination shows variations between each posie and there is an obvious raising of the paint from the plate surface, particularly the Blue colours.
Gold gilding is applied to the edge of the scalloped rim only.
BACKSTAMP DETAILS:
Purple printing is used for the backstamp
Note the artist's mark (Lime Green) to the left (and up a little) of the backstamp
DIMENSIONS:
SIDE PLATE: 158mm diameter
Weight: 135g
CONDITION:
Very (Very) Good condition
NO cracks
NO fleabites
NO crazing
Artwork is not worn in any area
NO substantial central knife cuts or scratching
Gold gilding is consistently applied around the rim although in one section the gilding looks "thinner" and I am not sure if this is due to handling wear or the gilder simply didn't complete their work properly - more likely to be due to handling I suspect but this thin part of the gilding is short and only noticeable when viewed side on, not from above.
Regrettably seeking a "new home" my wife is now focusing on very early hand painted Tuscan ware and hand painted Doulton figurines.
