BACKGROUND:
From time to time (actually quite a lot lately!) my wife has these "moments" ... "this piece of tableware has to find a new home"
Spode, a name in English china that is steeped in history but of course the company underwent many changes over the 200+ years they were in operation. High quality production techniques with attention to detail and many innovative techniques including the perfection of transfer technology and products such as the "Jade Green" pieces.
This tray, that my wife is offering, is earthenware and from the Mementos "period", roughly from the 1960's through to the 2000's. The mementos products are about reliving the past Spode glory days, this Pink Cherub pattern originated in Spode's early years in the 19th Century. Spode (WT Copeland) was undergoing much upheaval, manufacturing techniques were changing and machines were developed to the point that they were replacing previously hand crafting by humans. Many English manufacturers even moved production offshore in an effort to reduce manufacturing costs, Spode was no exception with much (but not all) of their product production being moved to Asia in the early 2000's.
This tray comes from the period immediately prior to much of the production being moved offshore and has been year marked using an impressed alphabet letter, J, which would indicate the production year was around 1986~7
Enough of the preamble ... let me tell you about this historically significant piece
DLAT rating 9.9/10 (Darling, Look At This!)
SPODE - Tableware Small Tray
Circa mid 1980's (based on the backstamp layout design and the impressed J (the letter coding at this time began with A in 1976, making this piece 1986 production)
Made In England
Earthenware NOT Bone China
Opaque, meaning that you CANNOT see through the material when held up to the light
Pattern: Cherubs
Design Code: S3609-Z
Colour: Pink with pure Cream-White background
NO Gold gilding or other "decorative finishing"
Shape: Rectangular with a steeply sloped curved sides all around and no lifting handles or tabs.
BACKSTAMP DETAILS:
Printed backstamp plus you may be able to see the J which is impressed into the clay
Note that the impressed year coding is difficult to view with the naked eye but upon closer inspection (with a magnifying glass) it can be "read"
DIMENSIONS:
220mm x 142mm x 40mm deep
WEIGHT: 400g
COSMETIC CONDITION:
CLEAN
NO cracks
NO chips
NO fleabites
NO discolouration observed to the White base or the Pink cherubs design
NO damage or wear is apparent to the decorative artwork
NO knife or scratch markings to the central area
NO crazing can be seen, dry or wet.
Overall, this is a nice example of "Contemporary Spode" - reliving the past glory days for the Spode company.
