A rare and early Brislington delftware plate, c.1685-90, the octagonal well painted in shades of

A rare and early Brislington delftware plate, c.1685-90, the octagonal well painted in shades of blue, yellow and manganese with a standing Chinese figure in a simple rocky landscape, the unusual rim moulded with a repeated shell motif, 24.2cm.

Provenance: a private collection from Devon and thence by familial descent.

Very few dishes with this unusual moulded rim are recorded. Cf. Michael Archer, Dated English Delftware, p.46, no.124 for a dish dated 1688 and believed to commemorate Halley's Comet, which appeared in 1680/81. This dish, formerly in the Thomas Greg Collection, is now in Manchester City Art Gallery. Alongside the following lot, another Royal dish is known from the Longridge Collection.