Antique Barker & Son Staffordshire Plates, Royal Cottage Pattern

• 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.
• Transfer Printed / Decorated Transferware - Transfer printing is method of decorating ceramics, reducing the cost of decoration when compared to employing artists to paint each piece. A print was taken on transfer-paper from an engraved copperplate, covered in ink prepared with metallic oxides, and the image on the paper was then applied to the biscuit-fired ceramic body. The print was fixed by heating the object in an oven, and then glazed, sealing the picture. Early transfer prints were blue and white, as cobalt was the only colour to stand firing without blurring. Early in the 19th century advances in the composition of the transfer paper resulted in better definition and detail, and enabled engravers to combine line-engraving with stipple.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• Staffordshire Potteries (England), item types
  • cottages and pastille burners 68
  • plates, platters and bowls 78