📝 Description
An elaborate and substantial antique English porcelain dessert service consisting of eleven matching pieces: 8 plates and 3 footed comports.
The design is unequivocally mid-19th Century (c. 1830–1860) Rococo Revival, known for its opulence. It features a bold, deep Cranberry Red or Iron Red ground colour on the scalloped border, overlaid with intricate, heavy gold scrolling and gilt detailing.
The central well of each piece contains a unique, finely detailed hand-painted landscape vignette. These varying romantic scenes—depicting lakes, waterfalls, lone figures, and rural cottages—are typical of the English appetite for picturesque landscapes popular in the era of the Staffordshire and Shropshire potters.
Crucially, the pieces are unmarked. This is common for antique English porcelain, particularly before 1820 or from smaller decorating studios, making a definitive maker attribution difficult. However, the quality, style, and composition point strongly toward major English porcelain houses like Coalport, Minton, or Ridgway.
This magnificent service makes a dramatic statement for dining display or a collector's cabinet.
 
⭐ Features
✔️ Quantity: 11 Pieces Total (8 Plates, 2 Low Comports, 1 Tall Comport)
✔️ Material: Porcelain (Finely potted, likely English Bone China)
✔️ Decoration: Hand-painted scenic centres, deep Cranberry Red border, extensive hand-gilding
✔️ Style: Rococo Revival / Victorian Dessert Service
✔️ Era: Antique, c. 1830–1860 (consistent with unmarked English porcelain production)
 
📏 Dimensions (approx.)
Dinner/Dessert Plates (8x): Diameter: 23 cm (9 inches)
Low Comports (2x, Footed): Diameter: 22.5 cm; Height: 7 cm
Tall Comport (1x, Footed): Diameter: 22 cm; Height: 12 cm
 
⚠️ Condition
Good antique condition. The age is evident in the wear, which is typical for a set of this period:
Significant Rubbing to Gilding: The ornate gold scrolling and rim trim show heavy wear, particularly on the scalloped edges, revealing the white porcelain beneath.
Surface Wear: Minor surface scratches in the central painted scenes and on the plate faces are consistent with age and cutting/cleaning.
Unmarked Base: No visible maker's marks or numbers.
The set remains structurally sound and displays beautifully as a very high-style example of 19th-century English dining ware.
 
🧠 Background
Unmarked English porcelain services with this level of decoration are often attributed based on the shape and painting style. The variety of landscape scenes and the combination of the vibrant ground colour with rich gilding were hallmark features of prestigious services manufactured in the Staffordshire region (Stoke-on-Trent) or Shropshire (Coalport) during the mid-Victorian period.