Lot 758: A Set of Six Vintage Archibald Thorburn Wildlife Porcelain Cabinet Plates
A set of six vintage Archibald Thorburn wildlife porcelain cabinet plates, each featuring a naturalistic study of a British mammal. Each circular plate is finished with a white glaze and a gilded rim. The decoration comprises high-quality lithographic transfer prints after the original watercolour paintings of the Scottish artist Archibald Thorburn (1860-1935). The subjects include a buck and doe roe deer, a dormouse amongst autumn leaves and berries, a mountain hare in its white winter coat, a rabbit in a field, two water voles at a riverbank, and a red squirrel. Several plates bear printed inscriptions and signatures on the face: the Roe Deer plate is marked ‘Roe Deer’ and ‘A. Thorburn 1918’; the Dormouse plate is marked ‘A. Thorburn 1918’; the Mountain Hare plate is marked ‘Hare’ and ‘A. Thorburn 1918’; the Rabbit plate is marked ‘Rabbit’ and ‘A. Thorburn 1919’; the Water Vole plate is marked ‘Water Vole’; and the Red Squirrel plate is marked ‘Squirrel’. A white adhesive inventory label numbered ‘46735’ is present on the squirrel plate.
Condition report:
The collection appears to be in good overall condition, with no visible chips, cracks, or crazing observed in the photographs. The gilded rims show no significant signs of rubbing or wear. A small fragment of white paper residue is visible on the surface of the dormouse plate (photo 3). The red squirrel plate has a white adhesive inventory label numbered \'46735\' adhered to its centre (photo 2).
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