Masons "Indian Grasshopper" pattern has a wonderfully easy, naive quality which is well ad...

Masons "Indian Grasshopper" pattern has a wonderfully easy, naive quality which is well adapted to these gently rounded lozenge shape dessert dishes.  A large peony occupies 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 underscores the soft contours of the diamond shape. 

The blue transfer-printed pattern is highlighted by deep red, wine and pale green enamels.  The molded scroll handles at each end are executed  in deep blue while Masons finishes the edge with a shimmering orange luster.

Masons "Indian (or India) Grasshopper," often simply called "Grasshopper" by collectors, s...

Masons "Indian (or India) Grasshopper," often simply called "Grasshopper" by collectors, 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 as well as the earliest circular and impressed straight-line marks.  Gaye Blake Roberts in Mason's The First Two Hundred Years illustrates the printed mark, "Patent Ironstone China Warranted"--seen in partial form on these dishes--dating it concurrently with those earliest impressed marks. Happily, while the various marks may  reflect different production periods, the pattern appears to have remained unchanged.

A note on the shape: This rounded lozenge shape is uncommon in Charles Mason's ironstone production.  Instead we associate this shape with its distinct molded handle detail with the earlier Miles Mason porcelain production -- perhaps more evidence of an early production date.