~ English Bloor Derby Porcelain Centerpiece Dish/Basket 1825-48 ~
This is a lovely Bloor Derby (Robert Bloor period) centerpiece dish / basket on foot. It has a rounded, rectangular form with lightly-pinched waist and sides. The cerule-form handles are applied to the sides. The body press-molded in low relief with lion's heads and wreaths to each corner. The dish has an apple green band with gilt decoration.
It has the red Bloor Derby mark (Robert Bloor period) to the underside which dates this piece between 1825 and 1848.
~ Robert Bloor ~
The Duesburys family had owned the Derby factory from 1765, initially in partnership with André Planché, a Huguenot immigrant from Saxony.
After the death of the third generation, William Duesbury III, the firm's salesman and clerk, took over the lease.
Bloor borrowed heavily to be able to make the payments demanded but proved himself to be a highly able businessman in his ways of recouping losses and putting the business back on a sound financial footing.
In 1845, however, Bloor died, and after three years under Thomas Clarke, the Cockpit Works were sold and the factory closed in 1848.
~ Dimensions ~
The dish is 11.75 inches (30cm) long by 9 inches (23cm) wide and 4.3 inches (11cm) high.
It weights 1.140 kg.
~ Condition ~
The condition of the dish is very decent for its age. It has few hairline cracks to the corners and one crack to the handle. The gilding is slightly worn mainly to the handles. The stamp from underside is worn.
