The durable white ironstone body of this brown transfer luncheon plate signals that this p...

The durable white ironstone body of this brown transfer luncheon plate signals that this plate was made for the daily use of the rising middle classes.   The pattern is "Gipsy," which features a scenic vignette of Gypsy life surrounded by an elaborate curlicue frame.  The co-ordinating border which fills the wide flange of the plate continues the curlicue motif  by incorporating a vine pattern.

In this center scene, a family of three Gypsies seem to have settled in for the time being -- their kettle suspended over the smoking campfire; the idle harness of their vardo to the right indicating that their horse is off grazing.  As always, the pattern background includes a church steeple and surrounding buildings indicating a nearby village.   

 

Looking at the "Gipsy" pattern with modern eyes, we are left feeling somewhat puzzled.&nbs...

Looking at the "Gipsy" pattern with modern eyes, we are left feeling somewhat puzzled.  While it is pleasant, where was the fascination with these, at best, suspicious people which merited a pattern celebrating the lifestyle?  Perhaps the pattern represents some residual of the 18th century theories of Rousseau which viewed the Gypsy with admiration as a being in tune with nature and the tides of creation.  At best, the juxtaposition of the Gypsy family and the always present, but distant, church steeple is thought provoking.