The appeal of Mason's "Table and Flower Pot" pattern lies in its still life of oriental objects and in the diverse range of colors employed to depict it. Masons seems to have gone after every color in the paint box. Taupe transfer printing provides the guidelines for enamel decoration in green, orange, yellow, pink, peach and slate blue.

Objects originally depicted in the Asian patterns that inspired Mason's designers carried symbolic meanings that had been lost long before reaching the Midland potteries. The resulting still life  is intriguing, if more than a little baffling. A baton or scroll case seems to float behind a prominent vase of peonies. The free-form table seems to have been constructed from a gnarled tree root. We recognize the bowl of fruit, but is the nearby duck a figurine or, more bizarre, a live duck in attendance? We are brought back to normalcy by the attractive border of  blossoms among scalloped patches of fretwork patterns which decorates the flange of these small dessert size plates.

Mystery,in any case, does not seem to have dampened enthusiasm for one of Mason's best known patterns.

Masons "Table and Flower Pot" can be found with a variety of marks, but the most characteristic examples show marks prior to the introduction of the "angled crown" mark around 1840. Though dating from the early years of ironstone production, it is still available in quantities that make specialized collections and displays feasible--testimony to the popularity of the pattern. A range of dinner and dessert pieces are available, as well as occasional jugs and mugs. Tea wares may present a bit more of a challenge.