Examples of Masons "Japan" patterns run the gamut from elegant dessert pieces and decorative objects, to functional vessels and dinnerware for the rising middle class.  This platter and the accompanying larger example (listed separately) fall into the later class -- wares executed in  standard patterns which did not require excessive care in the decorating department.  The result is a product brimming with a spontaneity that today's collectors find engaging.   The color palette, in common with most "Japan" patterns, is cobalt and orange highlighted with gilt.  Additional touches of lighter blue and orange complete the scheme. 

These platters present the basics of the "Basket Japan" pattern clearly: a border of loose floral sprays on each side of the flange and a center study with the large basket from which rises an oversize cobalt blossom with gilt chrysanthemum-like center.  A second blossom in lighter blue with orange center fills the balance of the space.  Additional small blossoms are scattered above these arrangements, all of which rest on a peach-colored ground.

While British potters looked to their Asian competitors for inspiration, they lacked the trained disciplined decorators needed to produce hand-enameled wares with uniform patterns. Some looked to the newly invented transfer-printing process for a solution, while the Masons never completely gave up the employment of the artisan decorators available to them. 

In these examples, cobalt areas would have been fired before passing the object to a painter who, working from a general design, would recreate the pattern around the dark blue elements. What was lost in consistency was gained in the free flowing spontaneity that is a major part of Masons Ironstone's charm.