A.J Wilkinson Ltd operated out of the Royal Staffordshire Pottery, where the well known designer Clarice Cliff had worked some years earlier. Clarice Cliff was the 2nd wife of the manager, Arthur Shorter.
ROYAL STAFFORDSHIRE POTTERY (A.J Wilkinson Ltd) - Oval Tableware Dish
Made in England
Circa 1947+ (based on the backstamp design)
Oval tableware dish
Pattern: Daphne
Cream coloured ceramic dish (opaque) with brightly coloured hand decorations at either end of the dish featuring an interesting depiction of countryside flowers and foliage
Glaze applied is clear, not Honey Glaze which A.J. Wilkinson used from time to time.
Hand decorated
NO Gold gilding, instead a bright Lime Green has been applied to the top edge
BACKSTAMP
Here is a photograph of the backstamp on this oval dish
I also noticed something has been impressed into the ceramic, just above the "9729" however it is completely unreadable - at a guess it looks like ' ' but I could be well off the mark here
DIMENSIONS:
Measures: 255mm (10") length x 35mm (5.25") x 25mm (1") depth
COSMETIC CONDITION:
USED
Clean
NO cracks
NO discolouration to the base Cream colouring nor the decorations
NO significant glaze scratching (from knives and forks) to the topside of the dish
There are however two flaws - one is perfectly understandable with a ceramic 75+ years old which has been subjected to the rigours of everyday use - heat & cold especially. Yes, there is all-over very light ~ light crazing (minute cracks in the glazing) but there has been no discolouration to the ceramic underneath the glaze, meaning that no nasties (bacteria) have made themselves at home under the glaze. You actually need to look pretty closely to see this crazing, dry or wet.
More serious though is a small chip, on the UNDERSIDE edge of one end, where the dish would normally be lifted. This chip is not large and is NOT discoloured but a "feel around" with a finger and it can soon be located. There is no cracking associated with this single small chip.
Even with this small chip, the dish remains a very nice example of some 1940's Royal Staffordshire tableware
