Rare Blank Victorian Ironstone Balance scale plate, Ceramic Butcher Dairy Grocer

...Cheese Slab crackling glaze An old Ironstone (glazed ceramic) Victorian Balance scale plate as would have been used by a Butcher, Grocer, Dairy Farmer etc and used to weigh Cheese or Butter. There are not too many examples out there, most of them with some form of advertising, but unusually, this one is completely blank apart from a couple small impressed underglaze numbers / letters on the bottom "172" and either an "I" or "H". This would make a wonderful cheese board, cutting surface or beside-the-sink or bedside table surface protector. Alternatively, it would be a wonderful tool to handmake paints, or use it as a painting palette. Condition: The off-white creamy surface is webbed with fine crazing, some of the rounded edges are a touch rough on the surface and there is some staining (see images) Size: 11-1/8 inches wide x 10-1/8 inches deep (28.5 x 25.5 cm). The little ledge is 1-3/4 inches tall (4.5 cm)