Round platter

Round platter – bowl-shaped, made of faience with a slightly yellowish hue and covered with fine craquelure. It is decorated with two-tone stylised poppy flowers in the spirit of moderate Art Nouveau. The flat, central area (the well) of the platter is undecorated. The remaining, larger portion of the platter is divided into two concentric strips by a thin brown stripe. A second stripe, also brown but wider, runs just along the rim. Embedded in these rings is the aforementioned floral decoration with a poppy motif, featuring maroon-red flower petals and dark green stems and leaves. The outer strip showcases a floral pattern forming a kind of border, which simultaneously mimics the design of the lip. It comprises six cup-shaped poppy flowers, each depicted upright between a pair of leaves and two flower buds. The buds, positioned on long, flexible stems, extend far to the sides and at certain points intertwine with similar buds coming from the opposite direction of neighbouring flowers. This arrangement creates a chain-like pattern. The decoration on the inner strip, surrounding the well, has a simpler design. It features three evenly spaced poppy sprigs with a flower and a bud, shown in a reclining position with S-shaped curved stems. This decoration was applied in the underglaze using a semi-mechanical technique, employing a stencil with a curved pattern. The first step involved marking the areas for the green portions of the design using a faint cobalt colour (through the stencil), which remains visible beneath the green. The next step was to reapply the stencil and apply the green (by pouncing) in the marked areas, followed by outlining the contours of the flowers and buds with a fine green line. The final steps included hand-painting the petals and buds with maroon paint and creating a three-dimensional optical effect on the petals by scratching fine lines into the paint with a blunt scraper (two lines on each primary petal). At the bottom of the platter, there are two stamped green signatures. One is the manufacturer's signature depicting an anchor in an oval, with the inscription S.B. and S /ENGLAND underneath, the other is the signature of the London store SOUTH AUDLEY ST/ T. GOODE&Co/LONDON. W. 

Joanna Kluz