Royal Crown derby heart shaped box

Royal Crown Derby - 1903
 
By the end of the 19th century Derby had returned to its place as a major player in the ceramics industry and they entered a golden age of making refined, elegant and exceptional quality porcelain pieces, often hand painted and signed by renowned artists. 

This box is decorated with a striking ground colour, hand painted cartouche and finished with delicate gilded accents. It dates from 1903 and is painted with a pseudo impressionist beach scene by William Dean. Dean was a Derby lad and worked at the Osmaston Road factory all his career, rising to be one of their top painters with a noted speciality in marine scenes. He was injured as a child and walked with a crutch all his life but this didn’t stop him going out of fishing trawlers from Grimsby with his sketch pad.

Condition: Excellent, a little wear to the gilding in one or two places.