A Small Collection — Nineteenth-Century Equestrian Transferware

I believe in collections, but a collection doesn't have to take over an entire cabinet or wall.

For this room, I collected six nineteenth-century English transferware plates over a period of years. I wasn't simply looking for pieces that coordinated. I wanted three exact pairs—matching in pattern, size and color—so that one of each pair could be placed on either side of the window.

There was another part to the hunt: the color.

I love ombré and color gradients, so I searched for the equestrian patterns in three different depths of purple. Arranged from one shade into the next, the three pairs create a subtle ombré effect on both sides of the window.

These aren't reproductions made to look old. The collection includes Anthony Shaw's Peruvian Horse Hunt, a Staffordshire pattern with an August 8, 1853 registry mark, and William Hackwood's Arabian Sketches, a series introduced in the 1830s that includes Arabs Halting.

Finding genuine antique equestrian transferware was one thing. Finding two of the same pattern, in the same color and size, three separate times—and in the graduated purple tones I wanted—was quite another. That is why the collection took years to assemble.

Rather than allowing the plates to simply float on the walls, I incorporated each trio into the architectural millwork. The symmetry gives a relatively small collection presence and importance without overwhelming the room.

The purple flowers repeat the tones in the transferware and introduce a quiet contrast against the predominantly black, white and grey palette. Purple also has its centuries-old association with royalty, which gave me one more reason to use it here.

I intentionally kept the larger palette neutral so that I can change the accents for different seasons and holidays—when I have time.

“A collection doesn't have to be large to tell a story. Sometimes the challenge—and the pleasure—is finding exactly the right pieces.”