A rare Lambeth delftware shallow dish or bowl, c.1785, painted in blue, green, yellow and manganese

A rare Lambeth delftware shallow dish or bowl, c.1785, painted in blue, green, yellow and manganese with a hot air balloon in flight above buildings and a low fence, the rim with stylised leaf swags, some chipping, 22.8cm.

The dish commemorates the demonstration flight of Italian aeronaut, Vicenzo Lunardi, on 15th September 1784 from the Artillery Ground in Finsbury. A crowd of over 200,000 watched the ascent, and others (no doubt including the workers at the nearby delftware factories) would have seen the balloon pass overhead on its flight to Standon Green End.