English delftware pottery production declined during the late 18th century in the face of increasing competition from other types of ceramics, such as salt-glazed stoneware and creamware. By the early 19th century, most delftware manufacture in England had ceased. The Mortlake pottery in west London was one of the last that continued delftware manufacture and is the likely maker of the present object. Because of rapidly waning delftware production, examples with 19th-century dates are very rare.

The plate’s decoration—swags of painted husks or bellflowers surrounding interwoven foliate garlands—is very much in the neoclassical taste and demonstrates the delft potters’ attempt to remain stylistically current even as their wares were being pushed out of the market by newer and more desirable products. With its date and style of decoration, this plate is an eloquent statement of the English delftware pottery industry as it drew to its close.