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Lot Essay
'The Stowe Service' represents the apogee of the superior quality of work carried out during the Regency period at the Worcester factory. It was delivered in 1813 to the second Marquess of Buckingham and intended for his country seat at Stowe in Buckinghamshire. This was the year that Richard Chandos-Grenville (1776-1839) assumed the title of 2nd Marquess of Buckinghamshire upon the death of his father, George. 1813 is also the transitional year of the Barr, Flight & Barr (1804-1813) and the Flight, Barr & Barr (1813-1840) factories, and factory marks for both iterations of the factory are found on pieces of the service, including within the present lot. The service, the original compliment of which is not known, was likely commissioned from the Worcester factory in celebration of the 2nd marquess' assuming the titles and estates of his father and the stewardship of Stowe Park, one of the grandest of English houses. The superb armorial decoration, carried out on such an extensive service proclaimed the aspirations of the Marquess, coupled with pride in his family's ancestry. His aspirations were realized in 1822 when he was created first Duke of Buckingham and Chandos.
Unfortunately, due to the bankruptcy of his successor, the second Duke, Christie's conducted a sale on the premises at Stowe in 1848 and the service was subsequently sold. Messrs. Christie and Manson held the monumental auction in the State Dining Room over the course of forty days, 15 August - 7 October 1848. Table china was sold on the eighth day, with the 186-piece 'Stowe Service', as lot 956, fetching £28. 18s. 6p from a T. Delarue of Bunhill Row.
The third Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, the son of the bankrupt duke, bought back many pieces from the sale and the family continued over time to recover heirlooms sold at the auction, including 82 pieces of the glorious armorial service. However, by 1921 the family was again bankrupt, and the contents of Stowe Park again came up for sale. This time, what remained of 'The Stowe Service' was bought by the noted porcelain dealer J. Rochelle-Thomas of St. James's, who described it in an advertisement in a 1923 issue of Connoisseur as 'The Most Magnificent Dinner Service Ever Made'. Though pieces occasionally come up for sale from the service, to have ten pieces, as we have here today, is a rarity. The motto on the service 'Templa Quam Dilecta' translates to 'How beloved are the temples', and certainly 'The Stowe Service' stands as a temple to the grand ambitions and familial pride of Richard Chandos-Grenville.
Unfortunately, due to the bankruptcy of his successor, the second Duke, Christie's conducted a sale on the premises at Stowe in 1848 and the service was subsequently sold. Messrs. Christie and Manson held the monumental auction in the State Dining Room over the course of forty days, 15 August - 7 October 1848. Table china was sold on the eighth day, with the 186-piece 'Stowe Service', as lot 956, fetching £28. 18s. 6p from a T. Delarue of Bunhill Row.
The third Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, the son of the bankrupt duke, bought back many pieces from the sale and the family continued over time to recover heirlooms sold at the auction, including 82 pieces of the glorious armorial service. However, by 1921 the family was again bankrupt, and the contents of Stowe Park again came up for sale. This time, what remained of 'The Stowe Service' was bought by the noted porcelain dealer J. Rochelle-Thomas of St. James's, who described it in an advertisement in a 1923 issue of Connoisseur as 'The Most Magnificent Dinner Service Ever Made'. Though pieces occasionally come up for sale from the service, to have ten pieces, as we have here today, is a rarity. The motto on the service 'Templa Quam Dilecta' translates to 'How beloved are the temples', and certainly 'The Stowe Service' stands as a temple to the grand ambitions and familial pride of Richard Chandos-Grenville.