Tin-glazed Plate, Delftfield, Glasgow, c.1760

This plate is painted in blue with a Chinese fence, a figure in a boat, and another figure crossing a bridge towards a house and a tree. The border design consists of grapes and foliate scrolls. A corresponding fragment was excavated near the factory site in Glasgow, and identical plates can be seen at the Victoria & Albert Museum, and the Bristol Museum.

The Delftfield pottery at Glasgow, Scotland, was set-up in 1748 by brothers Robert and Laurence Dinwiddie, Robert Findlay, and Patrick Nisbet. Robert Dinwiddie (1692-1770) subsequently became the Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia at Williamsburg (1751-58).

The pottery was situated on eight acres of land north of, and running down to, the Clyde river, in an area of Glasgow known as Broomielaw Croft. The directors first employed a manager from London named John Bird, whose role was to recruit the neccessary potters and painters. As with Liverpool delftware, the clay came from Carrickfergus, on the shore of Belfast Lough, and contemporary accounts report that a wide variety of wares were made, as good as any produced at Lambeth and Bristol. The factory is believed to have closed in 1810, and there are no remains to be found on the site above ground.

Two of the three stilt marks can be seen on the base, evidence of how the plate was supported in the kiln during firing. The third stilt mark is lost to one of the chips on the reverse, possibly as a result of its removal from the kiln. The body is buff-coloured, and the glaze has a characteristic blue tinge, with slight pooling in places.

Condition: Very Good - no cracks, restoration or over-painting, just the minor rim chips and flaking to the edges typically associated with this brittle tin glaze. The glaze has a wonderful texture, and the piece is incredibly tactile.

Scottish delftware is comparatively rare, and wares produced at Delftfield are much sought-after.

Dimensions: Diameter 10 7/8" (27.6cm)

Delftware: The Tin-glazed Earthenware of the British Isles, Michael Archer (V&A/HMSO, 1997).

English Delftware, F.H. Garner and Michael Archer (Faber & Faber, 1972).