{"product_id":"j-h-middleton-co-delphine-pattern-1937-cake-plate-bone-china-longton-england-c-1930s","title":"J. H. Middleton \u0026 Co. (Delphine) | Pattern 1937 | Cake Plate | Bone China | Longton, England, c.1930s","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJ. H. Middleton \u0026amp; Co. (Delphine) | Pattern 1937 | Cake Plate | Bone China | Longton, England, c.1930s\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA cake plate of this kind was never meant to stand alone — it was the anchor of a tea table, the piece everything else was arranged around\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJ. H. Middleton \u0026amp; Co. operated the Delphine Pottery at Chelson Street, Longton, Staffordshire, from 1889 until 1941, when wartime requisition of the factory brought independent production to a close and led to the formation of Hudson \u0026amp; Middleton. During the inter-war period, Delphine produced bone china tea and tableware of consistent quality for the middle-market domestic trade, the wares identified by their distinctive banner and crown backstamp. The “Made in England” mark without further qualification is consistent with production in the 1930s, placing this plate in the final pre-war decade of the factory’s independent output.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis square cake plate is of shallow form with a scalloped rim and four pronounced gilt scroll flourishes at the corner points. The decoration corresponds to pattern 1937: a scrolling gilt vine and leaf trail forming a continuous garland across the wide border, overlaid with hand-applied clusters of small polychrome flower heads. The flowers appear in three colourways — turquoise, cobalt blue, and red-orange — arranged in alternating groupings, some presenting as open five-petalled blooms, others as tighter berry-like clusters, with single red-orange berries punctuating the trailing stems. A fine gilt line defines the inner well, and the scalloped rim is gilt-edged throughout. The centre well is plain cream. The reverse carries the Delphine Bone China banner and crown backstamp in gilt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are one or two minor surface marks to the well. There are no chips, cracks or crazing to the glaze.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKey Details\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMaker: J. H. Middleton \u0026amp; Co. (Delphine Pottery, Longton)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBackstamp: Delphine Bone China \/ Made in England\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePattern number: 1937\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eForm: Cake plate\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMaterial: Bone china\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCountry of Origin: England\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePeriod: c.1930s\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHandle to handle: 22 cm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCondition: Good; one or two minor surface marks to the well\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCollector Appeal\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePre-war Delphine production with full gilt border and hand-applied enamel decoration, and a complete cake plate form less often found surviving than teacups and saucers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe best pre-war Staffordshire bone china was made to outlast the occasion it was made for — and this plate, still sharp in its gilding and colour after the better part of a century, has done exactly that.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Dancing Faun ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45064807973064,"sku":null,"price":495.0,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0575\/3497\/2104\/files\/rn-image_picker_lib_temp_e3d1739e-e4e5-4ed5-85d3-62ed7b514a3b.png?v=1777143651","url":"https:\/\/dancingfaun.co.za\/products\/j-h-middleton-co-delphine-pattern-1937-cake-plate-bone-china-longton-england-c-1930s","provider":"The Dancing Faun ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}