Worcester Porcelain Plates Hand Painted with Shells Set of Five, Ca. 1820
Worcester Porcelain Plates Hand Painted with Shells Set of Five, Ca. 1820 - Image 2
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Worcester Porcelain Plates Hand Painted with Shells Set of Five, Ca. 1820 - Image 4
Worcester Porcelain Plates Hand Painted with Shells Set of Five, Ca. 1820 - Image 5
Worcester Porcelain Plates Hand Painted with Shells Set of Five, Ca. 1820 - Image 6
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Worcester Porcelain Plates Hand Painted with Shells Set of Five, Ca. 1820 - Image 8
Worcester Porcelain Plates Hand Painted with Shells Set of Five, Ca. 1820 - Image 9
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Worcester Porcelain Plates Hand Painted with Shells Set of Five, Ca. 1820 - Image 11
Worcester Porcelain Plates Hand Painted with Shells Set of Five, Ca. 1820 - Image 12

Worcester Porcelain Plates Hand Painted with Shells Set of Five, Ca. 1820

$1,800.00

This exceptional set of five antique porcelain plates was made by Flight, Barr & Barr Worcester in England circa 1820.
Each plate features a finely hand-painted shell centered within a roundel and framed by coral and delicate seaweed fronds.
The design reflects the era’s fascination with marine biology and natural history.
The plates feature a soft aquamarine ground and wide gilt borders, decorated with a repeating motif of shells and small white pearls, which reinforces the nautical theme and neoclassical elegance.
One of the plates from this set is featured in The Dictionary of Worcester Porcelain, Volume I, 1751–1851, by John Sandon (see color plate 76, page 300).
Sandon attributes the shell painting to John Barker, a noted landscape artist who also specialized in shell decoration during the Barr, Flight & Barr period.
While no signed examples are known, Sandon writes:
“There remains a large group of pieces… painted with shells seemingly by a single hand… grouped into tiny clumps of filaments in contrast to the more dendritic treatment of Samuel Smith. It is reasonable to conjecture that these pieces are the work of John Barker.”
The seaweed background on these five plates closely matches that description, suggesting they are the work of Barker himself.
Dimensions: 8.35″ diameter
Condition: Excellent, with only the very slightest fading of the aquamarine enamel

 

In stock

BACKGROUND ON JOHN BARKER AT WORCESTER

According to “The Dictionary of Worcester Porcelain,” John Barker was a landscape painter who also excelled at painting shells. Flight’s factory records him as such, although no signed pieces are known by John Barker.
However, Sandon writes in “The Dictionary of Worcester Porcelain,” “There remains a large group of pieces (with shell painting) mostly from the Barr Flight and Barr period painted with shells seemingly by a single hand (see Colour Plates 76 and 77). The fine weed in the background of these compositions is grouped into tiny clumps of filaments in contrast to the more dendritic treatment of Samuel Smith. It is reasonable to conjecture that these pieces are the work of John Barker.”
The style of painting with this seaweed background matches that on our five plates.

BACKGROUND OF *FLIGHT BARR AND BARR WORCESTER

Flight Barr Barr Worcester were manufacturers to their Majesties. According to the Worcester Porcelain Museum, “During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Chinese porcelain was a great status symbol. Worcester produced a magnificent alternative, whiter with brighter colors and more readily available, becoming the height of fashion in the early 19th century. The customer accounts of this period would read like a ‘who’s who’ of the day. Rich personalized services were made for the wealthiest customers, including Tzar Alexander I, The Duke of York, King George III, King William IV, The Duke of Clarence, The Imam of Muscat, The Marquis of Buckingham, and the Nabob of Oude.”

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