In this oval soft paste porcelain dessert dish, Derby offers one of the most lovingly painted bouquets we can imagine. Topping off the superb floral center study, the piece is finished with Derby's much sought-after yellow border and a simple band of gilt around the rim. Rendered in colors that make these eighteenth century blossoms seem as fresh and fragile as blossoms just cut from the garden, these florals become almost fragrant upon closer view. The floral palette includes pink, pale yellow, amber and violet with attendant greenery executed in two colors of green.

The artist painting here is superb; however, the point which won the day for us was the simple, but rare, yellow ground border. John Twitchett in Derby Porcelain, 1748-1848 shows a handful of such pieces, each dating between 1790 and 1800 and carrying the puce mark. Twitchett mentions that by the end of the eighteenth century, yellow and other "immiscible" colors were applied as a powder to a sticky undercoat by means of a sieve. The yellow ground here has a slightly sandy feel to the touch which would indicate this method of application. 

A cursory thumb-through of Twitchett's book indicates the influence of William Billingsley in the decoration. The delicacy of the blossoms and the wispy details are very suggestive of the Twitchett illustrations of Billingsley's floral work.