Wedgwood | Scilla Fairy | Barker | Small Presentation Plate

Such beauty should need no introduction, yet if you haven't met the Flower Fairies it is my unbridled pleasure to be the first to show them to you. There are many such fairies (one hundred? two hundred?), drawn painstakingly by Cicely Mary Barker, a vicar's daughter, each with the face of a child from her local village and attributed to English flowers.

I grew up with their likenesses; by my bedside and in my bookcase (my favourite is the poppy fairy!). The fairies themselves are such works of art, that only a premium potter like Wedgwood could justify featuring them on collectible plates (not that they were the only ones to ride Barker's prodigious artistic talent). And Wedgwood has done more for the reputation of English pottery than maybe any other. This is my first exhibit of their china, but definitely not the last.

Gorgeous plates do of course look good on the wall, but I don't care for them (besides how could you read the poem on the back if it's hung?). This plate is also perfect for adding some magic to a tea party if its used to present either something wrapped in baking paper (think fairy cakes!) or presenting a selection of teabags. This one is drawn for the Scilla (aka. Bluebell) fairy.

Plate diameter: 20.5cm