French Porcelain Serving Dish, Heron and Cockerel La Fontaine, circa 1820

In the early 19th century there were countless potteries in and around Paris who copied the Sèvres style and would have their items decorated in decoration studios in Paris; this is loosely called the “Paris” school but it could have been any of these potteries or decorators who made this beautiful dish.

The dish is potted in very white soft paste porcelain after the Sèvres style. The decoration is finely painted; a heron and cockerel seem to be in conversation – this is presumably one of La Fontaine’s fables, which were very popular as topics for porcelain decoration.

The dish is unmarked.

Condition report: The dish is in exceptionally good antique condition without any damage, repairs or crazing, and hardly any wear.

Antique porcelain is never perfect. Kilns were fired on coal in the 1800s, and this meant that china from that period can have some firing specks from flying particles. Due to the shrinkage in the kiln, items can have small firing lines or develop crazing over time, which should not be seen as damage but as an imperfection of the maker’s recipes, probably unknown at the time of making. Items have often been used for many years and can have normal signs of wear, and gilt can have signs of slight disintegration even if never handled. I will reflect any damage, repairs, obvious stress marks, crazing or heavy wear in the item description but some minor scratches, nicks, stains and gilt disintegration can be normal for vintage items and need to be taken into account.

There is widespread confusion on the internet about the difference between chips and nicks, or hairlines and cracks. I will reflect any damage as truthfully as I can, i.e. a nick is a tiny bit of damage smaller than 1mm and a chip is something you can easily see with the eye; a glazing line is a break in the glazing only; hairline is extremely tight and/or superficial and not picked up by the finger; and a crack is obvious both to the eye and the finger. Etcetera – I try to be as accurate as I can and please feel free to ask questions or request more detailed pictures!

Dimensions: diameter 22cm x 22.5cm (8.5″ x 8.75″) and 5cm (2″) high.