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Spode Porcelain Botanical Specimen Dessert Dish, Spring Meadow Saffron

$1,000

£747.75

€873.32

CA$1,405

A$1,423.19

CHF 817.17

MX$17,255.75

NOK 9,482.16

SEK 9,651.75

DKK 6,529.02

About the Item

Spode Porcelain Botanical Specimen Dessert Dish, Vernal Bulbocodium Circa 1810–1820 This Spode porcelain dessert dish is painted at the center with a single botanical specimen, the Vernal Bulbocodium, named in iron-red script on the reverse. The plant is shown whole and growing, the rose-purple flower opening above sheathing leaves, one leaf still furled, and below it the brown bulb with its fringe of fine roots left fully exposed — an unusual and appealing conceit, since most painted botanicals stop at the soil line. The dish is of shaped lozenge form, the lobed rim rising to a point at either end, each point gilded and reserved with a white fan ornament flanked by gilt roundels, with a fine gilt line following the rim. It comes from a dessert service; further named specimen dishes from the same service are in stock. Dimensions Length: 11⅛ inches (28.3 cm) Width: 7¾ inches (19.7 cm) Height: 2¼ inches (5.7 cm) Marks Painted on the reverse in iron-red script: “Vernal.Bulbocodium.” No factory mark; the attribution to Spode rests on the body, the gilding and the pattern of the service. Provenance Earle D. Vandekar of Knightsbridge. Condition Very good antique condition. The painted decoration remains vivid, with minimal wear to the gilding consistent with age. References William Curtis, The Botanical Magazine, vol. 5, 1791, plate 153, “Bulbocodium Vernum. Vernal Bulbocodium” Historical Context Spode’s botanical dessert services of the Regency years answered a British enthusiasm for horticulture that had turned rare and newly introduced plants into a fashionable subject for the dinner table. The painters worked from published plates, chiefly those in The Botanical Magazine, founded by William Curtis in 1787 as the first periodical to issue hand-colored figures of new and rare plants for gardeners; Curtis illustrated the Vernal Bulbocodium in 1791, when it was still rare in English gardens. Naming each specimen on the reverse gave the service its point: a dessert course that doubled as a botanical cabinet. Ref: NY10438B-crrx

Creator:
Spode (Manufacturer)
Dimensions:
Height: 2.25 in (5.72 cm)Width: 11.13 in (28.28 cm)Depth: 7.75 in (19.69 cm)
Style:
Regency (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Porcelain
Place of Origin:
England
Period:
Early 19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1810
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Downingtown, PA
Reference Number:
Seller: NY10438B-crrx1stDibs: LU861038418842

Shop All Spode

Spode

Spode is one of the oldest and most distinguished of the great pottery companies of Staffordshire, the time-honored home of English ceramics. The firm’s blue and white bone china transferware is a timeless classic. Spode dishes compose the sort of elegant dinner service that most of us envision on a traditional holiday table.

The company was established in 1770 in Stoke-on-Trent by Josiah Spode, a friend and neighbor of another estimable English ceramist, Josiah Wedgwood. The Wedgwood firm first came to prominence for its tableware, which quickly gained favor in aristocratic households throughout Britain and Europe.

Spode was particularly known for two technical achievements in the firm’s early decades. The first was to develop a standard formula for the making of bone china — a type of porcelain (made with a mixture of bone ash, minerals and clay) that is dazzlingly white and so strong it can be used to create very thin translucent plates and vessels.

The other advancement was to perfect the making of transferware. That process involves the transfer of pictorial images inked on tissue paper — such as the garden scenery in the famous Willow dish patterns — onto ceramics that are then sealed with a glaze.

From the 1820s onward, Spode enjoyed tremendous success both in Britain and elsewhere owing to the beauty and vitality of its decorative imagery. By some counts, Spode created more than 40,000 patterns in the 19th century.

In 1833, following the sudden death of Josiah Spode III, business partner W. T. Copeland took over the company and changed its name to Copeland Spode (it later changed again, this time to W. T. Copeland and Sons). Collectors regard Copeland-marked pieces as Spode china. The Spode brand was revived in 1970.

Many favorite Spode patterns — among them Blue Italian, Indian Tree, Greek and Woodland — date to the company’s early years. Spode’s most popular pattern, Christmas Tree, was introduced in 1938.

Prices for antique and vintage Spode china vary widely, based on the size of the service, its condition and the pattern. An antique dinner service for 12 people or more, in good repair and complete with cups and serving dishes, will generally cost between $10,000 and $20,000. Such Spode services become heirlooms — a proud and timeless addition to a family’s table. And as you will see on these pages, Spode’s rich and varied wares offer a visual feast in and of themselves.

Find Spode serveware, ceramics and decorative objects on 1stDibs.