This dish leans into Rococo Revival's fondness for figural detail rather than sticking to pure ornament. Three cherubs, worked in repoussé from behind, sit at the centre of the oval pierced body, surrounded by embossed fruit and floral garlands that continue out to a scrolling serpentine border. Repoussé work like this takes real patience, since the design has to be hammered out from the reverse before any finishing detail is added from the front.
Two vacant cartouches sit within the design, left blank for personalised engraving, a common feature that makes a piece like this a natural choice as a gift. The form is flexible in use too: a vide poche for jewellery on a dressing table, or a dish for serving sweets at teatime, without needing any adjustment either way.
Condition notes
Very good antique condition. Two small splits along the border.
