can you id the plant specimens on these two spode plates

[parrot10blue]

hello:

These two plates have plants hand painted on them of specimen plants but I don't know what they are since they are not named on the back. These plates are currently on auction right now.

I am researching this china pattern and am trying to find all of the items in the set that were made. I need a way to identify each piece in the set and since the plant species were not named on the plates I need to find there names so I can use this as a form of identification for each item.

Can you id these plants for me?



ANTIQUE COPELAND FLOWER DECORATED DESSERT PLATE C1884 on eBay (end time 07-Feb-10 15:06:39 GMT)

and


ANTIQUE COPELAND FLOWER DECORATED DESSERT PLATE C1884 on eBay (end time 07-Feb-10 15:06:39 GMT)

[Merrow]

the one on the right looks like a kind of bell heather but upside down and a bit weird...or maybe something like bilberry/whortleberry?

[Meta menardi]

If you have access to these, can you get a better photo of a full leaf and it's connection to a stem, and a full view of the flower? Like so many things that get photo-ed, the level of detail is not aimed at IDing the plant

[Jennie]

The plant on the left could be Pheasant Berry, Leycestera formosa.

[parrot10blue]

Hello it is me again. I was looking at the two links I gave in the original post and they appear to be identical. The second link should have been

eBay.ie: ANTIQUE COPELAND HOLLY DECORATED DESSERT PLATE C1884 (item 230431421506 end time 07-Feb-10 15:11:29 GMT)

I think that this one is a holly of some sort.

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by parrot10blue

I am researching this china pattern and am trying to find all of the items in the set that were made. I need a way to identify each piece in the set and since the plant species were not named on the plates I need to find there names so I can use this as a form of identification for each item.

You are making the assumption that what is depicted is a botanically accurate representation of a specific plant. While the decorator no doubt had specimens to work from, there's no reason to believe that botanical accuracy was being sought, and it is far more likely that an idealised image was created to meet decorative sensibilities. Some ceramicists certainly prided themselves on achieving life representations of plants but the Spode tradition doesn't seem to include that to any significant degree.

Unless you have some background on the particular decorator and how they worked, looking to match the plate images to a species is probably a fruitless task. I would suggest your research would be better rewarded by approaching the Spode society.

CM