Georgian Liverpool Birds Wedgwood Plate

• Circa - A Latin term meaning 'about', often used in the antique trade to give an approximate date for the piece, usually considered to be five years on either side of the circa year. Thus, circa 1900 means the piece was made about 1900, probably between 1895 and 1905. The expression is sometimes abbreviated to c.1900.
• Creamware - Creamware, also known as "Queens Ware" is the
  
  cream-coloured English earthenware developed by Josiah Wedgwood in the 1760s.
  
  The invention of creamware was the result of experimentation in order to find a
  
  British substitute for imported Chinese porcelain, and the cream colour was
  
  considered a fault at the time. The lightweight fine white earthenware with a
  
  clean rich yellowish proved ideal for  tableware
  
  and decorative items during the 18th and 19th centuries and is still produced
  
  today.
  
  
  Creamware is made from a
  
  mixture of kaolin, feldspar, and ball clay, and is typically glazed before
  
  firing to give it its glossy finish. It was developed by British potters as a
  
  cheaper alternative to porcelain.
  
  
  At Wedgwood, Royal patronage
  
  boosted sales. In 1765 Queen Charlotte, the consort of King George III placed
  
  an order for a 12 place tea set and allowed Wedgwood to use the name
  
  "Queens Ware" for the line. In 1770 Wedgwood produced a creamware
  
  dinner service of 952 pieces supplied to Catherine II the Great of Russia.
  
  
  Other potteries such as
  
  Doulton, Neale & Co. and Spode produced smaller quantities of creamware.
  
  
  Creamware continued to be
  
  made throughout the 19th century and later.

• Georgian - As an English stylistic period, Georgian is usually taken to cover the period from George I (1714) to the Regency of Prince George (1811-20), although the period from 1800 to 1830 is sometimes designated as the Regency period. During the Georgian period the great English cabinetmakers and designers such as Chippendale, Hepplewhite, Adam Sheraton etc., were all active.
  
  Therefore there isn't a single 'Georgian style' as such and to say something is 'Georgian', usually means it was made between 1714 and 1830. This assumes we discount George V and George VI, both being from the 20th century.
  
  The styles popular at the time of each reign were:
  
  George I (1714-1727) saw out the last years of the Baroque period.
  
  George II (1727-1760) reigned during the Rococo period.
  
  George III (1760-1820) saw the last gasp of the Rococo, all of the early Neo-Classic 'Adam style' and most of the later neo-Classic 'Regency style'.
  
  George IV (Prince Regent 1820-1830)encompassed the last of the 'Regency' style.
  
  William IV's reign (1830-1837) was something of a no man's land (stylistically) and he wasn't a 'George' anyway. He covered the last glimmerings of 'Regency' and the start of the 'Victorian' style.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• Wedgwood (England), item types
  • Creamware / Queens Ware 53
  • plates 305