An English slipware tulip dish, probably Staffordshire, circa 1680


with trailed cream-coloured slip decoration on a red ground, the centre with tulips and leaves within a band of dashes, the border with more tulip flowers and leaves, a dotted border inside the rim, 38cm diam
|Provenance:By repute from Chirk CastleWith Garry AtkinsExhibited:The Merchant's House, Marlborough, Wiltshire, 2010-2018A similar style of decoration is found on delftware chargers, the border of dashes around the cavetto on this example copying the blue dashes found on delftware examples.According to tradition, a number of similar dishes were in use at Chirk Castle. The present lot was discovered in the house of a former servant at the castle and it was suggested the dish may have been carried out as a platter for leftovers from the kitchen.