CIRCA 1734-35

Details

A BRISTOL DELFT BLUE AND WHITE ELECTIONEERING PLATE
CIRCA 1734-35
Painted with a figure of Justice holding a sword and scales standing on an allegorical figure emblematic of envy, below an arch inscribed LIBERTA·POPULI below drapery and the initials TC, the border painted with lappet-shaped panels of flowerheads, the underside with concentric lines
8¾ in. (22.2 cm.) diam.

Provenance

Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 21 July 1981, lot 40.
With Jonathan Horne, London.

Literature

D59. The Longridge Catalogue

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 20% on the buyer's premium.

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Lot Essay

The present plate was almost certainly made on the occasion of the 1734 Bristol election. The initials TC refer to the Tory Candidate, Thomas Coster, who defeated the Treasury official Mr. Scrope. Scrope's supporters in the City Corporation presented a petition to parliament proclaiming several irregularities but after lengthy evidence was supplied the petition was withdrawn. The debacle was accompanied by propaganda from both parties including prints of Coster, the involvement of Coster with Cornish mining interests may explain the associated with local delftware manufacturers.

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