Quietly departed with item of crockery (5)
I believe the answer is:
plate
'item of crockery' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'quietly departed' is the wordplay.
'quietly' becomes 'p' (p for piano and quiet).
'departed' becomes 'late' (I've seen this before).
'p'+'late'='PLATE'
'with' is the link.
(Other definitions for plate that I've seen before include "horseshoe" , "Coat with metal" , "Salver" , "From which food is eaten or served" , "Shallow vessel" .)