Royal Doulton | The Professionals Series — The Hunting Man | Series Ware Cabinet Plate | Pattern D6282 | England, mid-20th century

A man who hunts for sport has arranged his life around a single morning each week, and much of the rest around the memory of it.

Royal Doulton’s Professionals Series brought together nine plates depicting established figures of English civic and professional life, each rendered as a central portrait medallion surrounded by a transfer-printed border of associated emblems, hand-coloured over the printed outline. Produced from 1919 into the 1970s, the series reflects a set of social archetypes that were both recognisable and aspirational within the English domestic interior — The Mayor, The Admiral, The Doctor, The Parson, and others alongside The Hunting Man, pattern D6282. The hunting subject is among the most distinctly English of the group, drawing on a long tradition of equestrian and sporting imagery embedded in British visual culture.

The plate is circular, 26.5 cm in diameter, with a flat well and a broad decorative border. The central medallion presents a half-length portrait of a huntsman in formal hunting dress: black velvet cap, scarlet coat, yellow waistcoat and striped cravat. Behind his right shoulder, a fox’s head appears within the composition — alert, ears raised, meeting the viewer directly. The background is a warm pink wash suggesting an interior or neutralised setting.

The border is transfer-printed with the emblems of the hunt — hunting horn, riding crops, glassware and bottles — picked out in soft washes of pink, yellow and cream. The title The Hunting Man is inscribed in flowing script at the base of the medallion. The reverse carries the black printed Royal Doulton lion-over-crown mark with “Made in England” and “England”, together with the pattern code D6282.

The plate is in excellent condition. There are no chips, cracks, scratches or crazing. The surface remains clean and the hand colouring is bright and even throughout.

• Maker: Royal Doulton
• Series: The Professionals
• Pattern: The Hunting Man
• Pattern Code: D6282
• Form: Cabinet plate
• Material: Earthenware
• Decoration: Transfer print with hand colouring
• Period: Mid-20th century
• Country of Origin: England
• Diameter: 26.5 cm
• Marks: Black printed Royal Doulton lion-over-crown mark; “Made in England”; “England”; D6282

Collector Appeal

The Professionals Series maintains a steady collector base, particularly among buyers assembling complete or near-complete sets. Individual plates such as The Hunting Man are also collected as standalone decorative pieces, with well-preserved examples in excellent condition remaining consistently marketable. The clarity of the transfer print, strength of the hand colouring, and absence of surface wear are key value factors, all of which are present here.

The fox in the background has the best expression on the plate — watchful, composed, and entirely aware of how this story usually ends.