Eight Rare Minton Porcelain Cabinet Plates, attributed to Christopher Dresser, 1877-1880.
Belonging to Nelson A. Rockefeller, Vice President of the United States under Gerald Ford, these cabinet plates were designed during the Aesthetic Movement in the Japanese taste by renowned British designer Christopher Dresser. He was known to repeat motifs such as the distinctive floral design within a hexagon that is repeated in a geometric pattern on the green background.

Each plate has a geometric border, stylized Greek keys on each side of the central white square, upon which are painted and gilded in yellow gold, rose gold and silver.

H: 9 1/2 W: 9 1/2 D: 1 in.

SPB Sale 4159, Lot 95. and PB Eighty-Four Sale 768 Lot 33.

Exposition Universelle Paris of 1878.

Minton Archive pattern books SD1705/MS2128 MS 2434 and SD1705/MS1508 confirm the design.
Subjects depicted include songbirds, cherry blossom branches, floral and leaf decorations. These were designed to be cabinet plates to display, but the Rockefellers clearly used them as there is evidence of wear and fine knife scars.

This is an assembled group, all produced by Minton in Stoke-upon-Trent, England, and many bear the stamp G3473, which means that they were among the most expensive, gilded plates that the Staffordshire firm produced.

Two of these plates with birds also bear the gold Minton mark with Prince of Wales feathers. The Prince of Wales was the patron for the English companies participating in the Exposition Universalle in Paris 1878. They are dated 1877. The other six plates have letters for 1877 and 1880. The exposition plates also were sold in America by the New York retailer Gilman & Collamore.

The Paris plates have a painted cursive S, which may refer to the gilder and others have four dots in a diamond shape or //.

Christopher Dresser did not sign all of his designs for Minton, but according to the Minton Archive, he was known to repeat decorative motifs, which are seen here and on Minton porcelain designs documented to him.

Wear to gilding and fine knife scars. One plate has a black and gold sticker with the letters PD. All eight plates were sold at auction and have various stickers or a label. One plate has a rim fleabite.