4040 - Persian Rose

Tube-lining: Grey
Enamels: Goods blue, scarlet, Emerald green, Cairo green, Harrisons orange & Harrisons Pink
Glaze: Greystone
Frequency Ranking: 5/50
Design Date: Early 1935
Production Period: Main production during 1935-37 and some production until 1939. The pattern was then re-released with design modifications in the later 1940s and carried on well into the 1950s.
Pattern Name: The name Persian Rose is used in the trade journals of the period.
Charlotte Rhead Crown Ducal pattern 4040 Persian Rose
Pattern 4040 Persian Rose
After Byzantine, Rhodian and Stitch, the Persian Rose pattern was the next big seller from Charlotte at Crown Ducal. This cheerful design continues the use of the greystone glaze used for patterns 4015 and 4016. Greystone is probably her best glaze for showing off these vibrant enamel colours.

The same design but with different colour decoration and glazes will appear later in the pattern list with pattern numbers 4300, 4318, 4491 and 5393. These are all named Tudor Rose, and it is interesting to note that if one grouped all these different variations of the Persian/Tudor Rose together as one pattern then this would have been the most commonly found of all Charlottes Crown Ducal designs, even more so than Golden Leaves, (4921).

Persian Rose was introduced early in 1935 but the pattern had a long life as it can be found with backstamp styles that range in date from the mid 1930s until the mid 1950s. However it is not believed that production was continuous but rather the main period of production would have been during a couple of years following release, then the revival occurred in the 1940s and 1950s.

There are three versions of Persian Rose which differ by the colour combinations of their borders, all however carry the same pattern number of 4040.
 Type 1 (64% of sample)

The original and most common colourway has a yellow border, handles and narrow bands. Most of these have the period 2 mark but a few examples, particularly chargers, were made with younger backstamps indicating some extended production until 1939.

Type 2 (4% of sample)

The hardest to find version have green borders, handles and narrow bands. It is believed that these were in production at the same time as type 1.
 Type 3 (32% of sample)

Virtually all the examples made after Charlotte had left will have borders and handles in green but the narrow bands are yellow. These are all unsigned, and if there is a tube-liners mark it will be DOT or L. There are also design differences with this group, for example on chargers the inner circle has a smaller diameter and there are fewer f motifs between the inner rings than the early examples. This colour variation have either the backstamp style AGR5 (481) or AGR3.
 References of the period:
Pottery Gazette and Glass Trades Review, February 1935 page 199.

The “Persian Rose” pattern also exhibits a fine manipulation of colour upon a Copenhagen type of background, (see illustration). The pattern itself, which is floral, reveals freedom and vigour.

The photograph from the Pottery Gazette shows two examples of Persian Rose on shapes 207 above and 156 below.