I picked up this porcelain plate/platter because it is clearly quite fine and I think very lovely, and was then delighted to find an old staple repair on the reverse. While one certainly sees much more dramatic (Frankenstein-ian, really!) staple repairs than this, which indeed are quite amazing, this to me is an interesting example for how cleanly and expertly done it was (and it gave me an excuse to dig in a bit more to the history and varieties of staple repairs.) Some research has given me a date of c. 1795 on the plate (and I've learned that Thomas Jefferson had a set with the exact same pattern) and the repair, with 4 large "white" metal staples, first half 19th c. At the center of the plate is (the remnants of) a hand-painted coat of of arms with horse at top and a monogram at center, and there remains a little gilding on the perimeter patterning.
11 1/2” x 9 1/16" x 1" and in very good "as is" condition. No chips or cracks other than the repaired one, completely stable and not fragile/delicate (any more than any other piece of porcelain!)
