Derby Porcelain Part Dessert Service, Red Botanical, John Brewer, 1795 1800

This is a stunning part-dessert service made by Derby between about 1795 and 1800, painted with named botanical studies by John Brewer. The service consists of a lidded sauce comport on a stand, two kidney shaped dishes, two lozenge shaped dishes, one lozenge shaped low footed comport, one round dish and three plates. 

The Derby Porcelain factory has its roots in the late 1740s, when Andrew Planché, a Walloon Huguenot refugee, started making simple porcelain toys shaped like animals in his back yard. In 1756 Staffordshire enameller William Duysbury and banker John Heath started a new porcelain factory with Planché and this was to grow out to the largest factory of its time, buying up the bankrupted Chelsea and Bow factories, as well as the stock of several other workshops including that of James Giles. The combination of various traditions, porcelain making skills and sophisticated clients enabled Duesbury to create one of the best porcelain factories of the 18th and 19th Centuries, which after many ups and downs is still operative today. 

John Brewer came to work at Derby in 1795 and worked there until his death in 1816. Together with his brother Robert, he was among the best painters at Derby, famous for his very fine landscapes and botanical studies. The brothers came from a well-known family of artists in London, but as the art scene became more crowded in the late 18thC, they chose to explore new avenues. It is said that John, who had never painted on porcelain, switched from being a water colourist to a porcelain painter within one week; a feat that had never been seen before as painting on porcelain is extremely difficult.

This service is potted in an elegant shape typical for the late Georgian/ early Regency style. The decoration consists of simple warm red rims with gilt bands, and stunning botanical studies on each item. The Latin and English names of the species are neatly painted in long hand on the back of each piece - you can just imagine the guests finishing their plates in order to turn them around and see if they guessed it right!

The items are marked in blue with the Derby crown mark, the pattern number 313 and the latin and English names of the flowers on each item.

Documentation: a full dessert service painted in the same manner by John Brewer but with yellow rims, was sold at Christies on 9 May 2018, lot 15, for USD 68.750.

CONDITION REPORT In very good condition without major damage and no repairs. There is an old crack in the sauce comport, however it is still good for use; there is one chip off the underside of the rim of one of the lozenge shaped dishes, and there is some crazing to the inside of the sauce comport. There is some light wear throughout, as visible in the pictures. 

Antique British porcelain is never perfect. Kilns were fired on coal in the 1700s, and this meant that china from that period can have some firing specks from flying particles. British makers were also known for their experimentation, and sometimes this resulted in technically imperfect results. Due to the shrinkage in the kiln, items can have small firing lines or develop crazing over time, which should not be seen as damage but as an imperfection of the maker's recipes, probably unknown at the time of making. Items have often been used for many years and can have normal signs of wear, and gilt can have signs of slight disintegration even if never handled. I will reflect any damage, repairs, obvious stress marks, crazing or heavy wear in the item description but some minor scratches, nicks, stains and gilt disintegration can be normal for vintage items and need to be taken into account.

There is widespread confusion on the internet about the difference between chips and nicks, or hairlines and cracks. I will reflect any damage as truthfully as I can, i.e. a nick is a tiny bit of damage smaller than 1mm and a chip is something you can easily see with the eye; a glazing line is a break in the glazing only; hairline is extremely tight and/or superficial and not picked up by the finger; and a crack is obvious both to the eye and the finger. Etcetera - I try to be as accurate as I can and please feel free to ask questions or request more detailed pictures!

DIMENSIONS please feel free to ask for further details.

Condition report:

Good. Wear consistent with age and use. In excellent and usable condition; one insignificant crack in sauce comport, one small chip off a dish, some wear throughout.