The arms are those of Talbot. Cf. D.S. Howard, Chinese Armorial Porcelain, p.164. This service was made for the Rt. Revd. William Talbot, a distant cousin and friend of the Duke of Shrewsbury, whose arms these originally were. This Talbot was a most distinguished and politically successful cleric. Nominated Dean of Worcester in 1699 by William III, he became in fairly rapid succession Bishop of Oxford (1699), Bishop of Salisbury (1715) and finally Bishop of Durham (1722). He married in about 1684 the daughter of a City of London Alderman, and the family's social ascendancy was assured in 1733 when her eldest son, Charles, was created a Baron. No wonder such a socially prominent cleric needed an outstanding service off which to entertain his impressionable flock.

An octagonal dish from this rare service was sold in these Rooms, 12 March 1986, lot 169, illustrated on the front cover