The best meat platters have weathered the dip in fortunes of Staffordshire pearlware. The Durham Ox series remains a favourite pattern and there was no shortage of northern private bidders when two c.1820 examples were offered at Tennants’ (20% buyer’s premium) Leyburn sale on January 12.
The 22in (56cm) wide platter, left, printed in underglaze blue with the famous beast and its owner John Day in a landscape, was pitched at £600-800 and sold at £3400. Slightly smaller at 18in (46cm) across, another platter from the series featuring a horse and cart and cattle in a landscape was pitched at £200-300 and sold at £1200.