Small Prattware Plaque, probably Staffordshire, c.1790-1800

This small Prattware plaque is moulded with a classical scene depicting the moment when the nymph Thetis holds her infant son Achilles by the heel and dips him into the river Styx. This act endowed Achilles with immortality, his mortal weakness being the part of his foot that never entered the river. The nymph is attended by a maiden who kneels between a tree and the stylized river.

This scene is contained within a moulded double oval cartouche, surrounded by a beaded rectangular frame, the corners of which contain a moulded star or flower. The outer border is of moulded stiff overlapping leaves. The plaque is simply painted in ochre, blue and green. The small size of the plaque and the naivety with which it is decorated is charming. The classical reference and the hole at the top demonstrate that the plaque would have been made to decorate the home of the educated, middle-classes.

Provenance: By descent through the noted Staffordshire Wood family of potters. The reverse of the plaque bears the partial label for D.M. Wood, in whose collection it was number 23.

Condition: Excellent - no cracks or restoration, just a tiny flat chip above the hole.

Dimensions: Width 2 7/8" (7.3cm); Height 3 3/8" (8.6cm)

A Collector's History of English Pottery, Griselda Lewis (Antique Collectors' Club, 1987).