Comports and Dessert Services

There is no rule governing what pieces are required to make up a service but generally there is a large centre piece with two high and two low comports and a number of dessert plates. Belleek produced five different dessert services. The largest and most diverse was the Prince of Wales Service.

In the Belleek Album there is a photograph showing a display of the complete service consisting of the Prince of Wales Centre Piece, two Tri-horse Comports and two Tri-dolphin Comports. The plates illustrated with this set are Echinus. (Along with the Echinus footed bowl, on the 5 September 1868 these were the first pieces from Belleek to be registered at the Board of Trade, London.) The pieces are also illustrated individually along with two other pieces belonging to this service - the Echinus footed bowl which is called a cream bowl and the Scallop Shell plate. A note of prices alongside these pieces in a pearl finish range as follows: POW CP 105/-, Tri-horse CP 35/-, Tri-dolphin Comport 10/-, the Echinus Plate 21/-, Echinus Cream bowl 3/6, Scallop Shell 2/-. Gilding, colouring or Bronze finish were considerably more expensive.

The complete Tri-boy  Dessert service is also shown with a caption written in Armstrong's hand: "Dessert Service 27 pieces, 18 Greek pierced Dessert Plates, 4 Tri-boy Comports m/s, 4 Tri-boy Comports tall, 1 Minstrel Centre. Complete, Pearl £21 8.8."

Two more complete services are shown in this album. The Basket Dessert service with pierced edges and the Greek service both having three sizes of comport and plates to match. Pieces available from these two services are often crested. The Thorn service is not illustrated but came in a range of different colours.

BOY AND SWAN COMPORT
From Del Domke's collection