Plate, Buffalo

Item Number: P245
Item Shape:  Side Plate
Pattern Name: Buffalo
Date: c. 1790-1800
Dimensions: D 8″
Maker: Unknown
Maker’s Mark: Unmarked
Description:
The pattern printed on this earthenware plate appears to have been deeply line engraved causing a heavy application of ink which resulted in a flowing or blurring of the color. The Buffalo pattern is one of the earliest Chinoiserie patterns and was made by several different potteries in the late eighteenth century. This pattern varies from the 5 types of the Buffalo patterns documented by Robert Copeland. The most notable variation is the absence of the rock island with banyan tree. It is replaced with an island with buildings. Additionally this version includes a single mast sail boat in the lake above the scene with the boy on a buffalo. The border, too, is different from other Buffalo patterns. Here, the diaper outer border includes a modified dagger design. The elaborate inner border combines a scalloped, lace-like design with a honeycomb border which is also different from the more common inner border or Nankin of diaper and modified rosette design. Several other examples of the Buffalo pattern, both marked and unmarked, are also found in this collection. For more information about the Buffalo pattern see Copeland, Robert, Spode’s Willow Pattern and Other Designs After the Chinese, London, 1999 and Zeller, Loren L., Animals on Printed Pots: Understanding the Role Animals Played in Early British Wares c. 1790-1820, Northern Ceramic Society Journal Volume 29.
Condition: Very good.