The transfer decoration on this c. mid 19th century Sunderland plate was not perfectly executed (as is not at all uncommon)--and the hand-painting not done with a whole lot of precision, either (the globe at top, for example, just given a general sort of dab of that pale lemon yellow). But the effect to my eye is formally lovely, lending a sort of soft dreaminess to the whole thing, amplified further by the splashed pink lustre rim.
And yet then a sharp dose of morality/reality at the center should one effort to read it: "Tis a very good world to live in. / To lend or to spend or to give in. / But to beg or borrow or get a mans own / Tis the very worst world that ever was known." There is conflicting information out there, but from what I can tell the quote is attributed first to 17th-century English poet and courtier John Wilmot, and was later included in Franklin's Almanac, in the latter case especially to argue for the merits of frugality. Reading it now, it certainly seems to me that there is a strong argument for the redistribution of wealth embedded in it!
7 7/8" diameter x 5/8" t. Aside from imperfection in the transfer, original to it, it is in very good condition, no chips, cracks or issues.
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