A songbird--depicted in a manner based on ornamental traditions, rather than nature--turns from his perch on a flowering branch to observe a butterfly hovering nearby in Mellor, Venables and Co. brown transfer "British Tambourine" pattern.  The central vignette of this oversize soup plate is enlivened with a generous application of enamels in red, blue, yellow and deep purple.

Along the flange of this piece, a finely-scaled diaper pattern is edged by a loop motif at the perimeter and--toward the well of the plate--by a  much less restrained garland of  enameled blossoms that might have been plucked from the flowering plant in the center.

The tradition of tableware patterns based on pictorial scenes began to lose dominance in the mid nineteenth century when potters--looking for design novelty--turned to decorative motifs and floral garlands as the central focus of their designs. The use of enamels over transfer and the employment of heavier earthenware blanks in angular gothic shapes are other characteristics of this era observed in these examples of the "British Tambourine" pattern. 

We have, however, encountered "British Tambourine" without the enamel highlights and executed on thinner, scalloped blanks suggestive of an earlier era--placing the pattern at a transitional point in British pottery design.

In addition to this large size soup plate,  Seekers currently offers a matching brown transfer platter as well as a pair of purple transfer dinner plates in Mellor Venables & Co. "British Tambourine" pattern.   (See final group images.)