This little scalloped blue transfer pearlware plate would originally have been part of a t...

This little scalloped blue transfer pearlware plate would originally have been part of a toy dinner service. The pattern is a scaled down version of  the adult pattern of the same name.  The shape and potting of the plate is typical of toy pieces of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. The nature of the transfer printing indicates production during the second or third decade of the nineteenth century.

In the tableau as seen here, the Queen of  Sheba sallies forth to meet Solomon. (In the standard tableware version, she displays an oversize olive branch which is to be offered to Solomon.)   Pygmy attendants scurry along keeping her ermine trimmed cloak from dragging in the dust and holding a sunshade over her head lest she become fatigued. Close examination of background details reveals three styles of architecture. The road behind her leads to a gothic inspired enclosure, while an exotic eastern temple appears to the right.  In the faint transfer at the top of the plate, a classical structure looms over the distant island.  

The border adds foliage detail to a typical patchwork of Chinese patterns.

While the "Queen of Sheba" pattern is well-documented, the identity of the manufacturer is...

While the "Queen of Sheba" pattern is well-documented, the identity of the manufacturer is still debated.   In English Toy China, Doris Lechler attributes the pattern to Spode. The Transferware Collectors Club sources point to Minton.  Coysh and Henrywood in The Dictionary of Blue and White Printed Pottery, 1780-1880 avoid the issue altogether.