HISTORY:
Another Bunnykins from our collection, this item being produced in the period 1960's ~ 1970's although the design dates from around 1959.
Designed "post" Barbara Vernon (Sister Mary Bailey) by Walter Hayward (Art Director), this design continuing for many years.
Oh yes, aren't bunnies cute? (unless you are a farmer!) but many people don't realise that each piece of "Bunnykins" is like eating breakfast from a storybook!
This artwork is not just a bunch of cute bunnies sitting on a raft! Imagine you are a child eating breakfast and your imagination is stimulated when you look at your plate with a nice piece of hot toast awaiting you (even though it's early morning!)
There is so much going on in the decorations and much of it can be interpreted differently by different children ...
Bunnies out for an adventure on the high seas? A female rabbit looking for land with her telescope, that mischievous rabbit who is using the hole in the sail as a window, or did he just make that hole himself? What is he looking at? The raft is going in the opposite direction. Yet another young bunny who is about to hit the water after falling off the raft, Oh dear ... who will save him? None of the other bunnies seem too concerned, especially "Grandpah bunny" in the centre of the raft with his Green bottle of "something". Then there is another bunny attempting to catch a fish with his very small net. But above all else, there is one character depicted that stands out from all the bunnies on the raft, the mouse! It seems surprised (or is it being playful?) that it's tail is being nibbled at by a fish.
I can hear you thinking, a MOUSE? What on earth is that creature doing on a raft full of bunnies? The mouse character was used by Walter Hayward in all of his designs, think of it like an artist's signature or his "mark".
Children love these sort of "make up your own story" designs, I know ours did many moons ago! And the best part, from Mum's point of view, is that for your child to see the design, they need to eat their breakfast all up first!
ROYAL DOULTON - Child's Side Plate
Fine China
Opaque, which means if you hold the bowl to the light you cannot see the shadow of your fingers through the china.
Bunnykins Series - Flatware
Royal Doulton design ID: SF111
Name: RAFT
Design created by Walter Hayward
Original design creation date: 1959
Side Plate
Cream almost Honey Gold background colouring, it was only in the later years production that this colouring moved towards a White appearance.
Decoration looks to be a hybrid of handcrafting and transfer decoration, I can clearly see (when examined with a magnifying glass) solid brush strokes but also "dot (all varying sizes, not the same as with a modern printer) in-fills" for the various details inside the outlines.
Measures: 163mm diameter
Weight: 180g
BACKSTAMP DETAILS:
This backstamp design was used from 1952 until approximately the early 1970's (my wife declares that this piece is from the earlier time period, around the 1960's.
Here is a photograph of the actual backstamp on this side plate
COSMETIC CONDITION:
USED (Barely)
Clean
NO cracks
NO chips
NO marks to the background or decorations
NO crazing (wet test applied, nothing shows up at all - which frankly amazed me)
NO knife or "cut" marks to the surface
Nothing is perfect after 65 odd years of occasional use and this side plate does have TWO small and quite indistinct fleabites on the underside.
Even with the fleabites, this remains to be a very nice example of "Mid Period" Royal Doulton 'Bunnykins' flatware.
