Plate

Date1678-1702

Artist/Maker Richard Fletcher

MediumPewter

DimensionsDiam: 9 5/16"; W (rim): 1 3/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1977-218

DescriptionPlate: Plain flat rim of moderate width with relatively narrow bead on underside at edge; rim with slight inclination inward to booge; short convex booge to plain flat center. Unidentified impaled arms within stylized mantling engraved on face of rim.Label TextThis example dates several decades before the customary production of plain rim plates. It may reflect the plain rims of moderate width that had been used on basins throughout the seventeenth century rather than late broad rims or multiple reeds that were in vogue when this plate was made. Fletcher struck the mark on this plate on the London Touch Plate in 1678. Although he worked into the first years of the eighteenth century, the style of the engraved armorials would suggest a date early in Fletcher's working career.Inscription(s)Unidentified impaled arms within a shield with plumed mantling engraved on face of rim.Mark(s)Touch mark a windmill with "R" to the left and "F" to the right within a beaded circle on underside of rim (London Touch Plate I, 312; Cotterell 1697). Secondary marks (1) incorporating, in part, a rose framed by crossed palm fronds within an apparent circle on underside of rim and quality mark "X" above pseudo hallmarks on underside of rim. Pseudo hallmarks (1) lion passant with mullet below and pellets above, (2) buckle with mullet below, (3) leopard's head with mullet below, and (4) "RF", each within a shaped shield on underside of rim opposite touch mark and principal secondary mark (Cotterell 1697).ProvenanceKenneth W. Bradshaw, Lincoln, Lincolnshire (sold by him and purchased by Colonial Williamsburg at Sotheby Parke Bernet & Co., London (June 13, 1977).