Description
A square outline with softly scalloped corners gives this Melba side plate a more unusual shape than a conventional round tea plate. Cobalt and iron-red floral panels alternate with white space and gilded detail across its bone china surface. The single plate brings geometry and colour to a display of English tea and coffee table pieces.
The supplied identification records a green crowned mark reading Melba Bone China, Guaranteed, Made in England. It links the piece to English production under the Melba name, associated with Mayer & Sherratt of Longton. Because the maker's full name is not printed in the quoted mark, the factory association is best explained rather than treated as a literal transcription. Its colourful Imari-style decoration reflects a taste for Japanese-inspired motifs in English tableware. The source dates this type of mark broadly to about 1925 to 1941; the plate itself does not carry a precise manufacture year. The selectable variant grades it Very Good and reports no chips or cracks, but photographs cannot exclude every fine hairline or past repair. For more context on the decoration and identification, see the Journal guide to Imari-inspired ceramics.
- Maker: Melba Bone China, associated with Mayer & Sherratt of Longton.
- Dimensions: Approximately 1 cm high and 16.5 cm wide, as listed.
- Condition: Very Good as selected on the variant; no chips or cracks reported in the supplied description.
- Features: Square scalloped form, green crowned mark, floral panels and gilt detailing.
- Period: About 1925 to 1941 by the recorded mark association.
- SKU: SKU-00551.
A distinctive plate for collectors of Melba bone china, English Imari decoration or shaped tea ware.