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Birds in pink, blue and gold gather around a mossy rock in Spode's Chelsea Bird pattern, whose bone china version dates from 1989. The legendary English house once made porcelain for the Prince of Wales. Read its story.
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Josiah Spode II held a royal warrant as potter to the Prince of Wales, and by the house's own account it made the Spode name known in English homes by the early 19th century. Here that courtly polish meets a garden of birds and flowers, held within the scalloped, gilt-edged rim of Spode's Chelsea Bird platter.
At heart, Chelsea Bird is a painted aviary on white bone china. Soft green and grey leaves frame the birds without crowding them, leaving the plain ground open like a pale sky. A gently ribbed surface runs beneath the scene, a subtle texture that rewards a closer look.
A bird takes wing above the scene while others perch on branches at either side. In the well, a tall bird with a blue neck and pink crest trails a long pink tail and rises from a green and gold rock base. Fine gilt lines trace the rim, and a gilt leaf scroll curls at each bend. The gold glints as the platter turns, and the birds seem to stir among the leaves.
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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