H & R Daniel Dessert Service, Floral With Lilac Sprigging, Regency, 1824

This is a stunning dessert service made by H&R Daniel in 1824. The set consists of a large centre piece comport, two sauce comports (without covers), four large rectangular dishes, four shell dishes, one smaller rectangular dish and eleven plates.

The H & R Daniel porcelain factory was founded by Henry Daniel, son of a family of master colour makers. He headed up the decoration department in the famous Spode factory where he oversaw all the beautiful early Spode decorations. In 1822 he opened his own factory with his son Richard, creating a truly iconic body of work with the most subtle colours and beautifully painted flowers and landscapes.

The Daniel factory was the last true cottage industry among the English potteries, resisting the increase of industrialisation and mass production. This resulted in extraordinary and unrivalled quality, but it probably also led to the factory having to close its doors in 1846 because it could no longer compete with others who did modernise. Daniel porcelain can be hard to identify as the factory was only around for about two decades, and Daniel items have therefore become true collectors' items.

This set is potted in the cusped shape, which was made between 1824 and 1825. The pattern no. 3835 is one of Daniel's most desired early patterns: a simple white ground with moulded lilac sprigged vines and grapes, gilt anthemions, and each item has a large flower decoration in its centre. Each flower is unique and these images have been painted sublimely by a very highly trained painter. Daniel wares are famous for the quality of their paintings.

The set is unmarked except the pattern number 3835 on many of the items (not all, as the pattern numbers are often washed off on Daniel pieces).

An image of one of these dishes can be found in Michael Berthoud's "H&R Daniel 1822-1846" in plate 5.

CONDITION REPORT The set is in good antique condition with some typical flaws: of the plates, 5 are crazed, 2 of which have chips and 4 of which have cracks; the central comport has cracks running through the middle and one coming off the rim; one of the comports is crazed; 2 large rectangular dishes are crazed and one of those also cracked; one shell dish has a slight crack. The set is stunning on display and many of the items are still good for use.

Antique British porcelain is never perfect. Kilns were fired on coal in the 1800s, 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 ask if you would like to know the specific dimensions.

Condition report:

Good. Wear consistent with age and use. Minor structural damages. In good and bright condition, some crazing and minimal damage.