Thomas Fell's "Antiquarian" aims its appeal at the Romantic sensibility. Deer graze and re...

Thomas Fell's "Antiquarian" aims its appeal at the Romantic sensibility. Deer graze and relax in a setting of unspoiled nature. The pointed windows of a Gothic structure suggest a spiritual presence. It stands in a state of poetic decay, as does a rustic bridge nearby. The only other sign of man's intrusion is a far away castle or fortress glimpsed in the distance.

The center scene is framed by a border of floral clusters and scroll work, totally covering the flange and spilling down into the well of the plate.  A fine dotted ground along the outer edge of the border provides contrast setting off the dramatic scalloped profile of this piece.  

 

The attribution of the "Antiquarian" pattern to Thomas Fell is noted in Volume II of Coysh...

The attribution of the "Antiquarian" pattern to Thomas Fell is noted in Volume II of Coysh and Henrywood's The Dictionary of Blue and White Printed Pottery 1780-1880 (p. 15).  In Volume I of their work, they record that Fell operated in Northumberland (St. Peter's Pottery, Newcastle Upon Tyne) from 1817 to 1890. The pottery seems to have begun with a specialty in tea wares which broadened as the business developed. 

Jeffrey Snyder in Romantic Staffordshire Ceramics corroborates the Fell attribution(p. 59).