The Mystery of the Marine Plate

Several years before Cameron Brown's death in 2002 (see the following link to read his NZ Herald Obituary:  http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=2848145 ), Mary Morrison interviewed him a number of times. Mary is the probably the expert on Titian. Among her aims was to establish what some of the earlier and rarer objects he produced may have been. Cameron Brown tantalisingly recalled making a plate with a nautical theme in very small numbers. Is this it?

This small dish is moulded in relief, airbrush decorated and the details hand finished in fine black lines. The border takes the form of a ships wheel. It has the feel of the mid-1950s about it, although I can't be sure. Until recently I was in little doubt that this was the plate Cameron Brown was referring to. However, a larger relief decorated and painted plate has come to light and was sold at auction in Auckland not long ago. A picture of this on can be found here: http://img.carters.com.au/164019.jpg 

What do you think? I think both of them are probably Titian. This is one of those numerous interesting obscure details of Titian production that is so rewarding for the collector. Again I want to emphasis the folk art character of these souvenir pieces of Titian - so different from what Crown Lynn was all about.