Platter, The Durham Ox with John Day

Item Number: P92
Shape Type: Platter
Pattern Name: The Durham Ox with John Day
Date: c. 1810-1820
Dimensions:  L 21″, W 17″
Maker: Unknown
Maker’s Mark: Unmarked
Description:
A large earthenware platter printed with the Durham Ox with John Day pattern. The pattern is one of at least nine known patterns in the Durham Ox series made on dinner ware. This pattern is found only on large platters.  The source for this pattern is a hand-colored stipple engraving by T. Whessell after a painting by T. Boultbec. The engraving was published in 1802, a copy of which is also in this collection. See item M15.  The gentleman seen in the pattern is John Day of Harmston near Lincoln who was both the owner of the animal and the publisher of the engraved print. The breeders of the Durham Ox were the brothers Charles and Robert Colling of Ketton Farm in 1796. John Day is said to have acquired the animal in 1802 when the animal was 6 years of age. For a full accounting of the relationship between John Day and the famous Durham Ox, see “The Durham Ox” by Norman Comben, Adlard Print & Reprograhpics, Nottingham, 2007. This item was featured in Extraordinary British Transferware, 1780-1840, by R & R Halliday, p. 71, Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 2012.
Condition: Very Good. One one-inch rim chip on the rim professionally restored. Some knife marks and modest ware to the center of the platter.