Small Coalport Imari Pattern Plate (1805)

My Collection

Small Coalport Imari Pattern Plate (1805)

A small plate made by Coalport in hybrid form of hard paste porcelain in 1805.

To make hard paste porcelain required china clay and china stone (a form of feldspar) mined in Cornwall. Exploitation of the minerals relied on the new canal system, built in the early part of the industrial revolution, to transport the heavy loads of minerals to the Shropshire factory. The decoration is one of the many Imari or Japan patterns popular around this time. The bold colours were applied directly to the biscuit body and then glazed and fired. The design covered most of the surface and so hid minor blemishes that occurred in porcelain made in this period. The plate has stylised leaves in cobalt blue and small red blossoms on the underside rim. A set of this Coalport “rock and tree” pattern is present in the Queens collection at Buckingham Palace in London.