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Made circa 1878-1890, these Kings plates from Crown Derby set iron red and cobalt in gold. King George III let the Derby name bear a crown in 1775, the house says. Read its story.
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That crown still appears on the back of each plate, painted in red with crossed batons, and the same red returns on the front in the blossoms of the pattern. It is a palette inspired by Japanese Imari porcelain, a style that Crown Derby and other European makers imitated.
These plates come from the late Victorian years, when the dining room ranked second only to the parlour among a home's best rooms. Their design is richly layered for such a room, with dense scrollwork alternating with delicate blossoms in the border panels, all outlined in thick gold lines.
The gilding is still vibrant, with only minimal rubbing to the high points, and every bit of hand-painted decoration is intact. Laid side by side at a formal table, the plates show how generously Crown Derby painted in its Osmaston Road years.
Royal Crown Derby began with an artist's gift. In 1750, by the house's account, Andrew Planche was making figurines by hand at Derby's first china works. There he became close friends with William Duesbury, whose decorating skills matched his own.
King George III granted the Derby works the honor of a crown in its mark. In 1890 Queen Victoria appointed the illustrious house Manufacturers of porcelain to Her Majesty and granted it the name Royal.
Its Osmaston Road works in Derby, opened in 1875 by the house's account, is still its home. There a pattern from 1911 is still made under the very same roof. Its porcelain now glows in homes around the world, gathered by collectors who settle for nothing less than the finest. They know each piece carries a crown first granted by a king.
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