Dish (Platter)

Description

Although early 20th-century scholars associated dishes from this series with the Rogers factory in Staffordshire, no clear evidence supports that attribution. This particular naval scene also was misidentified as portraying the battle between the Chesapeake and Shannon. Actually, however, the transfer-printed scene is directly after a print in J. Jenkins's 1817 "The Naval History of Great Britain" and portrays the battle between the "Blanche" and "La Pique." As per Coysh and Henrywood, p. 334 (see References) the "moonlight battle...took place on 4th January, 1795. The dish corresponds in almost every detail with the print which bears the caption: 'The situation of La Pique of 40 guns, 400 men, a French Frigate and His Mjs Ship Blanche of 32 guns and having on board only 180 men about 2 o'clock in the morning after the Blanche had lost her Main and Mizen masts. The action began about half past 12 and continued to half past five in the Morning. Captain Faulkner fell when the ships were in the above situation'. Eventually, however, La Pique surrendered." The dish is one from a group portraying different ships within shell borders and known as the Shipping Series. (Winterthur is grateful to The Transferware Collectors Club for research support provided by the Paul and Gladys Richards Research Grant Program for Studies in British Transferware.)