Q & A

A.F. of Vancouver, B.C.writes:

I have strange little plate that is about 6 inches by 4". It has holes in it that appear to have been put there deliberately. The design is painted in blue on a white background. On the back of the plate it says Copeland Spode's Italian, England. What is this, is it old?

We asked Janet Carlile to respond:

Your small plate is a drainer for vegetables, fish or meat. It would have fit into a corresponding small platter and water from the cooking process would have been allowed to drain away. The pattern of the pieces is called Italian Blue and Copeland Spode is the factory.

This is one of the early transfer ware patterns from the Spode factory in Staffordshire, England and was introduced during the early part of the 1800's. The mark on the back of your piece suggests a date of around 1900. The factory has conducted experiments with the colour over the years with black and red being available at times. The colour of the blue has relatively nothing to do with the age of the piece contrary to popular belief. It is basically all down to the amount of cobalt which is used in the transfer itself with the result being that some early pieces are very dark blue and some are quite light. The fact that the blue appears smudged is due to the kiln being too hot and causing the blue to "flow".

Flow blue is a term used to describe pieces of blue and white transferware where the definition of the edges of the transfer pictures have blurred. British Manufacturers initially considered the "flow" a flaw but as it became very popular in the United States the flaw became deliberate. This pattern is still available today as open stock although not this specific piece.