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An artichoke finial wrapped in gold-edged acanthus leaves crowns the domed lid of this Spode Chelsea Bird tureen. Spode's pattern, with a bone china version from 1989, recalls 18th-century Chelsea porcelain. Read its story.
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As the story goes, Chelsea Bird began with a mid-18th-century original in Chelsea porcelain, its bird standing ruffled on a rock. Spode followed with a bone china edition of the motif in 1989, and on this covered tureen a long-tailed bird with a blue head still keeps to its mossy rock, between a fruiting branch and a spray of pink flowers.
At sixteen, Josiah Spode went to work for the potter Thomas Whieldon, the start of the training behind the house that bears his name. Here shaping takes the lead, from the domed, scalloped lid down to a foot that ripples in turn. The pattern rewards a walk around the table, since each face of the round body holds its own bird.
Across the lid, birds take wing inside leafy garlands on either side of the finial, where a young bud rises beside the artichoke on its gold stem. Gold lines and sprays of gilded wheat ears trace both rims, and the scrolled handles end in curls of gold leaf. Gold scrolls and a gold shell dress the foot, and even the ladle notch is outlined in gold. On the far side, a pink-crested bird with a blue breast waits among blossoms, keeping the Chelsea legend alive.
Spode began with an apprentice's patience. As a young man Josiah Spode worked for the potter Thomas Whieldon. In 1776 he finished buying the works in Stoke-on-Trent that would carry his name for generations. There a great English name began to take shape.
In 1783 the house perfected underglaze blue transfer printing on fine earthenware. Around 1790 it developed its bone china formula. Josiah Spode II won the title of Potter and English Porcelain Manufacturer to the Prince of Wales, and the fabled house became a household name. In 1816 it launched Blue Italian, a design that has never left production.
In Stoke-on-Trent the Spode Works Visitor Centre stands within part of the historic factory. Its china now graces homes around the world, chosen by collectors wise enough to know a classic. They know each piece carries a craft once honored by a prince.
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