The elaborate molded blank of this shrimp dish -- floral sprays at the top, gilded acanthus detail at the handle with added gilt -- creates a formal contrast with Masons' breezy, naive "Indian Grasshopper" pattern.   The tableau features a large peony in the center of the dish, possibly the dinner target of the curious grasshopper perched on an adjacent leaf.  Additional sprays of flowers around the perimeter create a loose border, and at the very edge a string of petite Chinese cloud motifs follows the lobes and scallops.

The blue transfer-printed pattern is highlighted by pale enamel washes of pink, green and blue with touches of yellow and a strong contrasting red-orange.

Masons "Indian (or India) Grasshopper," often simply called "Grasshopper" by collectors tends to be difficult to date.  It seems to have been one of  a group of early patterns which remained in production throughout the Mason family's ownership of the company.  We have observed examples with various printed marks from the earliest circular and impressed straight-line marks to the various crown and drapery marks used through most of the years of family ownership.  Happily, while the various marks may  reflect different production periods, the pattern appears to have remained unchanged, retaining its quirky mixture of formality and whimsy..