{"product_id":"emile-lessore-wedgwood-victorian-creamware-shell-dish-21cm","title":"Emile Lessore Wedgwood Victorian Creamware Shell Dish 21cm","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis attractive antique creamware shell dish was produced by the renowned English pottery firm Wedgwood and finely decorated by the celebrated French artist and ceramic decorator Emile Lessore. Dating from the Victorian period, circa mid–19th century, the piece is a charming example of Wedgwood’s art pottery output and showcases Lessore’s distinctive hand-painted style.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe dish is formed in a stylised scallop or shell shape with a slightly raised lug at the top, giving it an elegant and practical outline suitable for use as a small serving dish, bonbon dish or purely as a decorative cabinet piece. The gently ribbed moulding radiating from the lower centre subtly evokes the fluting of a natural shell, while the flat inner surface provides a perfect ground for the painted scene.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe front is decorated with a pastoral genre subject, executed in fluid overglaze enamels in a palette of soft rose, green, brown and touches of blue and yellow. A seated young woman in Victorian dress is shown on a grassy bank, watching over a small child who is reaching out playfully towards a lively spaniel-like dog in the foreground. The background includes a leafy tree, shrubs and distant water or sky, creating a tranquil rural setting. The design has a sketch-like quality, with confident, calligraphic linework and light washes of colour characteristic of Emile Lessore’s work for Wedgwood. The artist’s signature, “E. Lessore”, is clearly visible near the lower rim, confirming the decoration as his hand-painted work rather than a transfer print.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe rim of the dish is neatly edged with a warm yellow-brown enamel band, providing an effective frame to the central scene and echoing the tones of the creamware body beneath the glaze. The underside is plain, glazed cream with impressed factory marks; the “WEDGWOOD” stamp, visible near the footrim, is consistent with 19th-century production. Additional small impressed letters or symbols serve as potters’ and date codes typical of Wedgwood’s Victorian output.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe body is of fine creamware: a light, slightly warm-toned earthenware that was one of Wedgwood’s most important 18th- and 19th-century products and remained popular well into the Victorian period. Unlike bone china or porcelain, creamware has a softer, more opaque appearance that suits Lessore’s painterly technique, allowing the colours and sketching to sit gently on the surface. The glaze is glossy and even, with minor speckling from manufacture typical of the period.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe dish measures approximately 21 cm in length, as shown against the tape measure in the photographs, giving it a pleasing, practical size for display or light use. The condition appears good for age, with no obvious cracks or major restoration visible in the images. Any light surface wear, small frits to the rim or minor glaze imperfections would be commensurate with Victorian production and normal domestic handling over more than a century.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEmile Lessore collaborated with Wedgwood from the 1860s onward, bringing a Continental artistic sensibility to the firm’s wares. His figure scenes, often featuring children and domestic or rustic subjects, are highly sought after by collectors. This shell-form dish is an appealing, usable piece that combines a sculptural, functional shape with a signed miniature painting, making it ideal for collectors of Wedgwood, Victorian creamware or 19th-century artist-decorated ceramics.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhether displayed in a cabinet, hung on a wall using an appropriate plate hanger, or used as a delicate trinket or sweetmeat dish, this Emile Lessore for Wedgwood shell dish offers an evocative glimpse into Victorian taste and the partnership between one of England’s finest potteries and a leading French ceramic artist.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Moffitts Antiques","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53941514567964,"sku":null,"price":150.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/moffitts.co.uk\/products\/emile-lessore-wedgwood-victorian-creamware-shell-dish-21cm","provider":"Moffitts Antiques","version":"1.0","type":"link"}