vintage Painted Bird & Butterfly Plate

Royal Cauldon

Artist Signed Holmes Gray

For consideration is this antique plate from a rare series called Butterflies of the World by Royal Cauldon. This plate looks a lot like creamware with an all over impressed/embossed wide border design done with much intricacy.   It depicts two types of butterfly: Viceroy / Liminitis Archippus and Tiger Swallowtail / Papilio Glaucus

The artist John Holmes Gray was born in Dennistoun, Glasgow, Scotland, in 1929 and grew up in Glasgow. He did his National Service in the Royal Navy where he was awarded a Royal Navy grant to attend drawing classes at Edinburgh College of Art , Scotland. On finishing his service he studied at the Glasgow School of Art from 1949-1954 , at diploma and post-diploma level. He studied under Johnny Miller in the first two years and then studied ceramics from 1951 under Johnny Crawford (ceramics was then part of the Sculptures Department, the Head of which was Benno Schotz ). He was awarded the Haldane Travelling Scholarship in 1953-54 . After leaving Glasgow School of Art he worked for Johnson, Matthey & Co Ltd , potters, Stoke-on-Trent, England, and other successful Stoke potters such as Spode and Royal Worcester.

The plate is in great condition for its age, very fine allover crazing and some allover coloring/slight darkening of the glaze. It has a gorgeous patina. 

Measures: 9 1/2"