ITEM HISTORY
Those who like to browse the extensive collection of my wife's chinaware may say "OMG!" as there are a lot of beautiful pieces to behold and gaze at!
The secret is this ... my wife collects MOST of her chinaware for personal satisfaction but some pieces were used on a "hire or rental" basis as prop's for the advertising and entertainment industry. A "side-line" if you like and even to this day she has close contact with drama production companies supplying "special props" for their latest production although she is "winding down" these activities and now she wants to focus on her own personal interests in very old hand crafted china and porcelain from the 19th Century.
This is one of those "prop" items, I am told it has been "on outings" many times in past and could well be seen in film or television dramas, usually "period dramas"
For this reason (being out of the house), some of these items have distinct flaws - particularly crazing (cracking of the glazing) which is caused by environment temperature changes (hot day - cold night)
It is very important to read the description of this item, any flaws will be truthfully and sincerely declared!
WOOD & SONS - 9.75" Cake Serving Plate
Trade Name: Avon
Material trade name: Alpine White Ironstone (like the driven snow!)
Circa 1940's ~ 50's
Flat cake serving plate
Cream White, highly glazed smooth china with a scalloped rim
Beautiful as they are, yet another traditional cake plate featuring multi-coloured flowers with foliage, enhanced with heavy Gold gilded edgework and designs. A lot of Gold on this plate, suggesting oppulence at the dining table or afternoon garden tea party.
Opaque, meaning that if it is held to the light you cannot see shadows of your hand through the material - this is "Ironstone" meaning earthernware.
Hand decorated, both the painted artwork and the gilding. I double checked this because the flowers appear in such good condition with vibrant colouring and under a magnifying glass I CANNOT see the telltale signs of transferware (dot patterns) at all.
DIMENSIONS:
252mm (9.75") diameter
BACKSTAMP DETAILS:
Here is a photograph of the backstamp from this cake serving plate
Note that to the outside of the main backstamp is the gilder's mark
COSMETIC CONDITION:
Just because this plate has been in a "drama production environment" doesn't mean it is any less attractive and it has NOT been damaged through handling, in fact the production houses tend to look after these very well otherwise they don't get their deposit back!
USED
CLEAN
Very Good overall visual condition (but not perfect)
NO cracks
NO discolouration to the Cream/White base or the decorative artworks
One underside fleabite, small and not discoloured
LIGHT crazing can be viewed when held to the light (or when viewed with a magnifying glass), but this crazing is light and there is no discolouration of the White surface at all.
The plate retains a very high sheen, the glaze still looks "fresh"
Gold gilding (heavily applied to the rim and in the central area) is in great condition, while the finer Gold designs (which look to be Gold leaf) also remain in great condition.
This plate is now retiring from the "film industry", no more will it be in the limelight (old term for stage spotlights) and has now come 'back down to earth' and eagerly awaits the opportunity to live the remainder of it's days in a nice caring home that appreciates such lovely old tablewares from an era long past.
