The hand painted dessert service of porcelain was a mark of elegance in an age when display was expected of those who could afford it. These Staffordshire bone china dessert dishes (both are footed dishes but have been photographed so as to show the main decoration) come from services in which each piece was painted with a different landscape. The dish at the left is from an Aynsley service with Canadian views of the Muskoka district. This view, identified on the bottom of the piece, shows a wooden bridge "at the South Falls." Dessert services with these Muskoka scenes, possibly copied by the Aynsley artist from photographs, were advertised in Toronto in 1886. The second dish is from a Davenport service of the 1860s painted in a more romanticized style with English views. This Davenport piece is obviously superior to the plate in illustration 18 which, with decoration limited to a few thin gold lines, was intended for those who wanted or could only afford porcelain that was inexpensive.
