In some "circles" Royal Albert was the ONLY bone china to have if you wanted to be accepted into some ladies gatherings, particularly when it came to fine bone china teasets. But there is more to life than endless "high-tea" gatherings, there was the grandeur of full dinner tableware sets, this Haworth pattern was one of the very popular offerings from Royal Albert.
Over the years, our own complete dinning settings have slowly dwindled and now we have just a piece of this or a piece of that - this piece is just the Regal oval tray ... other Haworth pieces that may remain available may be seen HERE
This is a sandwich serving tray and what is immediately noticeable is the weight of 600g, this is not the normal delicate. thin walled translucent fine bone china.
DLAT RATING: 9.5/10 (Darling! Look At This!)
ROYAL ALBERT - Sandwich Serving Tray ONLY
Circa 1980's ~ 2000's
Shape: Rectangular tray with broad scalloped edges
Bone China
Bright White base
Translucent, meaning that if held to the light you can see the shadow of your fingers through the heavy china
Transferware with hand applied Gold gilding to each end carry handle
Actually the tray has 4 handles, one on each side also but these are far less substantial than the end handles (more difficult to hold the tray using the side handles due to the weight)
Design: HAWORTH
Subdued colouring featuring pale primroses with foliage. Heavily applied Gold gilding to each end carry handle
DIMENSIONS:
298mm length x 177mm width
Sandwiches are placed within a depressed area of the tray (so they do not fall to the floor!) and this measures 230mm x 130mm, plenty of space for a nice selection of sandwiches
WEIGHT: 600g
BACKSTAMP DETAILS:
Photograph of the actual item backstamp
Gilder's mark is clearly visible to the left of the backstamp
CONDITION:
This was used for the occasional afternoon tea or light lunch when special visitors dropped by
NO cracks
NO chips
NO signs of glazing breakdown (Dry observation and Wet tested)
NO discolouration to the base or artwork
Gold gilding is heavy and NOT showing any signs of handling wear
Nothing is perfect in this life and I can see just a couple of EXTREMELY LIGHT knife scratch marks in the central area.
