Antique Blue and White Transfer Plates, Australian Bush Design, 1870s
'The Australian Bush' pair of antique blue and white transfer English porcelain plates by William Brownfield & Co., circa 1870s, factory stamp and title to bases with diamond registration, 9.45 in. wide
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- Circa - A Latin term meaning 'about', often used in the antique trade to give an approximate date for the piece, usually considered to be five years on either side of the circa year. Thus, circa 1900 means the piece was made about 1900, probably between 1895 and 1905. The expression is sometimes abbreviated to c.1900.
- Transfer Printed / Decorated Transferware - Transfer printing is method of decorating ceramics, reducing the cost of decoration when compared to employing artists to paint each piece. A print was taken on transfer-paper from an engraved copperplate, covered in ink prepared with metallic oxides, and the image on the paper was then applied to the biscuit-fired ceramic body. The print was fixed by heating the object in an oven, and then glazed, sealing the picture. Early transfer prints were blue and white, as cobalt was the only colour to stand firing without blurring. Early in the 19th century advances in the composition of the transfer paper resulted in better definition and detail, and enabled engravers to combine line-engraving with stipple.
- Registered Design - During the period 1842-1883 the Patent Office issued a diamond mark along with the registration number when a design was registered.
Besides indicating that the design had been registered, a diamond mark offered the buyer the reassurance of knowing an item was of British design. It assured the person registering the design a degree of protection from copying.
The mark was created to identify the type of material used (known as the class), how many items were included, (sometimes known as bundles or packages), and the date of registration.
On the diamond mark the year of registration is shown along with the month code. However, there are two ranges of year codes; 1842-1867 and 1868-1883. By looking at the design of the diamond mark you should be able to determine the correct year from the design of the diamond mark and the placing of the day number.
Source and further information: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/research-guides/reg-design-diamond.htm
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