Early Wedgwood creamware plate with moulded putti border, 26cm

This attractive early Wedgwood creamware plate presents a fine example of Josiah Wedgwood’s pioneering 18th‑century cream-coloured earthenware. Modelled as a generous dinner-sized plate of approximately 26 cm in diameter, the piece has a gently lobed rim and a broad, nearly flat cavetto, providing an elegant canvas for the delicately moulded ornament around the border. The body displays the softly off‑white, faintly warm tone that collectors associate with early creamware, enhanced by a clear lead glaze that has developed a pleasing network of age‑related crazing.

The wide rim is richly decorated in low relief with a continuous frieze of playful putti interspersed with classical wreaths and foliage. The putti are engaged in a variety of lively activities – some carrying garlands, others playing or frolicking – echoing the Neoclassical taste for antique-inspired subjects that Wedgwood popularised in the later 18th century. The modelling is crisp yet subtle, designed to read through the translucent glaze rather than through applied colour, and the decoration is framed at the inner and outer edges by a finely scrolled border, giving the plate an elegant, finished appearance.

The central well of the plate is left undecorated, in keeping with early Wedgwood creamware intended for practical table use. The surface shows even wear consistent with age, together with a fine, stable glaze crazing and some light toning, all of which are typical for period creamware and add to its antique character. There are no obvious chips or structural cracks visible to the naked eye; the rim remains well defined, with only minor manufacturing imperfections and the odd tiny firing speck, reinforcing the description of the piece as being in good antique condition.

The underside bears an impressed WEDGWOOD mark, faint but legible in the photographs, positioned within the recessed foot. This early single-word mark is consistent with late 18th- to early 19th‑century production at the Etruria works and supports the attribution to Wedgwood rather than to one of the many contemporary Staffordshire imitators. The back is otherwise plain, apart from the expected potting and turning marks and a light ring of wear where the plate has sat on different surfaces over time.

With its classical putti border and refined creamware body, this plate is a versatile piece for both collectors and decorators. For the Wedgwood specialist it offers a well‑preserved example of the firm’s early press‑moulded relief decoration on creamware, predating the better-known jasperware but already exploring similar themes of antique ornament. For interior display it works beautifully in a wall arrangement of creamware or as a stand-alone focal point on a dresser or sideboard, the subtle relief catching the light particularly well.

In summary, this is an early Wedgwood creamware plate of about 26 cm diameter, with a moulded Neoclassical border of putti and wreaths, impressed WEDGWOOD mark to the base, and in good, honest period condition with attractive age patina. It is an evocative survivor from the formative decades of English industrial pottery, combining historical interest with enduring decorative charm.