A very rare New Hall or Enoch Wood porcelain dessert plate from the ‘Mere’ service, painted by Fidelle Duvivier, circa 1785-90

About 1785-90
Diameter 20.7cm
No mark

The plate has a shaped rim and border enamelled in turquoise and gold. The central scene is painted with two figures on a bank beside a river, two further figures crossing over a bridge and a large building or factory beyond.

This service is discussed in depth by Dr Godden in his 2004 book on New Hall porcelain, where he suggests that the service was made for John Daniel, the factory manager at New Hall. This attribution has since been questioned by Roger Pomfret in his article for the Northern Ceramic Society in 2023, where he puts forward the idea that the service might have been decorated by Fidelle Duvivier whilst working for Enoch Wood

Condition: wear to gilt rim and turquoise border, some losses to enamels in centre.

Provenance: perhaps John Daniel, manager of the New Hall factory and Mr Gray of Hanley; Geoffrey Godden Collection; Michael Witherick Collection.

See Godden G., New Hall Porcelains, p.170; where he illustrates the centre of this plate.
See also Pomfret R., Northern Ceramic Society Journal, Vol.38, 2023, ‘The Identification of Enoch Wood’s 18th-century Porcelain: a Review of the Previous Suggestions’, pp.71-91.

£1,650