Beyond the Willow
Blue and white transferware is perhaps the most iconic British pottery style. Developed in the late 18th century, it allowed detailed scenes to be “transferred” from copper plates onto ceramics. While everyone knows the Willow Pattern, sophisticated collectors look for specific makers like Spode, Minton, and Riley.
Spode’s “Blue Italian” (introduced 1816) is a classic, but their “Indian Sporting” series (depicting colonial hunting scenes) is the “Holy Grail” for many. Collectors also prize “meat platters” with deep wells for gravy (often called Tree and Well platters).
Collector’s Tip: Look for “rippling.” Early 19th-century transferware often has a slightly rippled or uneven glaze surface, unlike the glassy smoothness of modern reproductions. Also, check the transfer joins. On plates, you can often see where the transfer paper sheets met or overlapped slightly in the border pattern.
A perfectly seamless pattern often indicates a modern, machine-applied print rather than the hand-applied craft of the Georgian/Victorian era.
