Dish
Date1752-1758
Artist/Maker
Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory
(1745-1769)
MediumPorcelain, Soft-paste
DimensionsDiam: 9 3/8", Ht.: 1 3/8"
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1962-185
DescriptionSoft-paste porcelain plate with scalloped rim. The hand-painted decoration is asymmetrical and in the Hans Sloane style. The plate is decorated with a branch from a mulberry plant. The purple branch has three large leaves painted with green and yellow, three smaller, green leaves, and four purple mulberries. A butterfly and a fly are painted on the ledge. There is a line of brown, iron oxide on the rim.Label TextThe botanical decoration on this plate depicts the leaves and fruit of a mulberry tree. Dishes with this style of botanical decoration are often referred to as Hans Sloane style porcelain. Sir Hans Sloane (1660-1753) practiced medicine and had a passion for studying nature. In 1713 he purchased a riverside manor in Chelsea which included the Chelsea Physic Garden. Sloane encouraged medical students and the Society of Apothecaries to study, record, and experiment with local and foreign species of plants at the garden. Chelsea’s Hans Sloane style dishes are a result of the research conducted at the Chelsea Physic Garden.
MarkingsAnchor painted in red on reverse.
ProvenancePurchased from: Tilley & Co., London
