Rare Samson — Cie “Armorial Lowestoft Platter” - Miami - rose patterned china

Rare Samson — Cie “Armorial Lowestoft Platter”


Samson began his career by making service and set piece replacements in the late 1830s. In 1845 he opened the ceramics firm Samson, Edmé et Cie at 7, Rue Vendôme (later Rue Béranger) in Paris, with the intention of supplying reproductions of ceramics on display in museums and private collections.

The factory was moved to Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis in 1864 by Samson’s son, Emile Samson (1837—1913). The firm either drew inspiration from other factories, or directly copied their pieces. Designs from the factories of Meissen, Sèvres, Chelsea, and Derby were among the reproductions Samson, Edmé et Cie produced, along with designs copied from and all the major factories of England, France and Germany.

During the eighteenth century, the market for fine china was considerable and Sampson’s firm reproduced ceramics in a breadth of styles including the faience and maiolica types of Italian pottery, Persian style dishes, Hispano-Moresque pottery (a blending of Islamic and European motifs, produced during the 13 th to 15th centuries), plates in the Fitz Hugh pattern, as well as plates designed by his fellow Frenchmen, Bernard Palissy. Another frequent style copied by the Samson firm was the famille rose and famille verte styles produced in China between 1720 and 1790. Imari wares, named for the Japanese port where a type of richly decorated porcelain made at Arita was shipped, were also copied by Samson.

Samson, Edmé et Cie did not set out to produce copies with the intention to deceive, and claimed that all reproductions the firm produced would be distinctly marked to avoid confusion with the originals. However, many of its products have been passed off as originals.

The Samson firm, in many instances, attempted to distinguish their reproductions from originals. The Samson wares were produced in hard-paste porcelain, while many of the originals would have been produced from soft-paste porcelain.

What a great find. By the famous Paris firm of Samson & Company. Outstanding & Rare Samson — Cie “Armorial Lowestoft Platter”, measuring 4 inches high and 18.50 by 14.50 inches and in mint condition. There is a slight variation of the glaze on the outer edge of the back (manufacture imperfection as made NOT a damage).

This is a very outstanding and wonderful work that will give the discerning collector many years of enjoyment.