This large blue and white English Delft charger was made in Bristol circa 1760 and is hand-painted with a wonderfully animated garden scene. Two songbirds perch on prominent rockwork beneath a willow tree. A butterfly hovers overhead. Flowering plants and a garden fence add to the scene.

The decoration has the freshness and spontaneity that make 18th-century English Delft so appealing. Broad, confident strokes of deep cobalt form the rockwork and songbirds, while finer brushwork describes the willow branches, flowers, foliage, fence, and butterfly. The contrast between the stronger central forms and the lighter, freely drawn details gives the scene remarkable movement and life.

A wide border of flowering vines encircles the charger. Painted with considerable freedom, the blossoms, leaves, and curling stems create a lively frame for the garden scene. Against the warm white tin-glazed ground, the cobalt ranges from pale washed blue to an intense inky blue.

At 14 inches in diameter, the charger has substantial scale and considerable decorative presence. Its blue and white palette and charming garden scene would bring the character of 18th-century English Delft to a room. The charger is also notable for its excellent condition. Only very small edge frits have been invisibly restored, an especially desirable state of preservation for a large English Delft charger dating to the mid-18th century.

Dimensions: 14 inches diameter
Condition: Excellent. Very small edge frits invisibly restored.
Decoration: Hand-painted in cobalt blue with songbirds, rockwork, willow tree, butterfly, flowers, garden fence, and floral border
Material: Tin-glazed earthenware, English Delftware
Style: Georgian, English Delft
Origin: Bristol, England
Date: Circa 1760
Reference: Alan Caiger-Smith, Tin-glazed Pottery in Europe and the Islamic World: The Tradition of 1000 Years in Maiolica, Faience and Delftware, Faber and Faber, 1973.