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Lot Essay
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689-1762) was an Orientalist, writer of letters, poet and aristocrat. In 1712 she eloped with Edward Wortley Montagu, who became Ambassador to Istanbul in 1716. Having spent much of her colourful life in Italy and France, she returned to England in 1762.
The Worcester porcelain decorated by Giles with this pattern and long-associated with her name post-dates her death by a number of years. Stephen Hanscombe suggests in his 2005 exhibition catalogue that the association may have come from an earlier Giles-decorated service on Bow porcelain. The style of decoration was popular at contemporary factories such as Chelsea and Tournai.
(Stephen Hanscombe, Exhibition Catalogue, James Giles, China and Glass Painter (1718-80), London, Stockspring Antiques, no. 64. See also Aileen Dawson, The Art of Worcester Porcelain 1751-1788, masterpieces from the British Museum collection, London, 2007, pp. 230-1, no. 97.)
The Worcester porcelain decorated by Giles with this pattern and long-associated with her name post-dates her death by a number of years. Stephen Hanscombe suggests in his 2005 exhibition catalogue that the association may have come from an earlier Giles-decorated service on Bow porcelain. The style of decoration was popular at contemporary factories such as Chelsea and Tournai.
(Stephen Hanscombe, Exhibition Catalogue, James Giles, China and Glass Painter (1718-80), London, Stockspring Antiques, no. 64. See also Aileen Dawson, The Art of Worcester Porcelain 1751-1788, masterpieces from the British Museum collection, London, 2007, pp. 230-1, no. 97.)