Antique Minton & Hollins TIPPOO Plate, c.1845–1860, BB New Stone, Victorian Staffordshire Transferware

This early Victorian Minton & Hollins plate, probably dating to around 1845–1860, is decorated in the wonderfully named TIPPOO pattern. Made in Staffordshire in Minton’s “BB New Stone” body, it combines deep flowing cobalt blue with hand-applied iron red and fresh green enamels, all set against a softly crazed white ground. TIPPOO belongs to a group of richly coloured Oriental-inspired patterns produced by Minton in the middle of the 19th century, when British potteries were looking increasingly towards Chinese, Japanese and Indian sources for ideas. Minton produced a number of patterns in this spirit, with names including Poonah, Bombay Japan and Amherst Japan. TIPPOO shares the same love of dense floral decoration, strong colour and an almost exotic abundance of ornament. The name is particularly interesting. “Tippoo” was the spelling commonly used in Britain for Tipu Sultan of Mysore, who remained a famous and rather romanticised figure in 19th-century British culture. It is very tempting to read the pattern name as a reference to him, especially alongside Minton’s other Indian-inspired pattern names, although I have not found a surviving factory record that actually confirms why Minton chose the name. For that reason I would treat the connection as very likely rather than completely proven. What I like here is how far removed this is from the restrained idea we sometimes have of Victorian tableware. The border is almost completely filled with scrolling green foliage, blue leaves and red-edged flowers, while the centre has its own wonderfully eccentric arrangement of flowers and a small ornamental vessel. There is a real looseness to the colouring too. The enamels do not sit with machine-like precision over the blue printing, which gives the whole plate a much more lively, handmade quality. The reverse is particularly useful. It carries the blue printed TIPPOO pattern mark together with the impressed “BB / NEW STONE” mark. BB stood for “Best Body”, one of Minton’s earthenware body designations. There is also a painted red 6096, very likely a factory pattern or decorating reference, although I have not found a surviving published register that allows me to identify that number with complete certainty. Condition: Good antique condition for a piece approaching 170 years old. There is extensive fine crazing to the glaze, entirely consistent with age and clearly visible in the photographs. There are small areas of rubbing and minor age-related wear to the decoration, but no obvious major chips or cracks visible in the photographs. Collector’s note: What makes this plate interesting is not simply that it is early Minton, but that it captures the Victorian fascination with an imagined “Orient”. Pattern names such as TIPPOO turned historical figures and distant places into part of the language of the Victorian dining table. Today that makes the plate both a decorative object and a small piece of British social and design history. Worldwide Shipping: We are always happy to ship worldwide. Your piece will be packed with great care and sent tracked.