CIRCA 1770

Details

A LARGE CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN ARMORIAL DINNER SERVICE
CIRCA 1770
Each piece with the arms of Maxwell, Earl of Nithsdale above the motto REVIRESCO and surmounted by an earl's coronet and the crest of stag before a holly bush, all within inner bamboo borders encircled by floral garlands, comprising:
A pair of soup tureens, covers and stands, 14 5/8 in. (37.1 cm.) wide, the stands
Four sauce tureens, covers and stands, 5 3/8 in. (13.5 cm.) wide, the stands
Three sauce boats and four stands, 7¾ in. (19.6 cm.) wide, the stands
A large punchbowl, 14¼ in. (36.2 cm.) diameter
A medium-sized punchbowl, 13¼ in. (33.7 cm.) diameter
A pair of rectangular bowls, 10 3/8 in. (26.3 cm.) wide
Three large lobed bowls, 10¼ in. (26 cm.) diameter
Three medium-sized lobed bowls, 9¼ in. (23.4 cm.) diameter
Four small lobed bowls, 8 in. (20.3 cm.) diameter
Six large platters in three graduated sizes: a pair 18 1/8 in. (46 cm.) wide; a pair 16¼ in. (41.2 cm.) wide; a pair 14¼ in. (37.5 cm.) wide
Six oval medium-sized platters, 13 in. (33 cm.) wide
Six oval small platters, 11 5/8 in. (29.5 cm.) wide
Four oval smaller platters, 10 1/8 in. (25.6 cm.) wide
Twenty-four soup plates, 9½ in. (24.2 cm.) diameter
Sixty-five dinner plates, 9½ in. (24.1 cm.) diameter
Twenty-four side plates, 7¾ in. (19.7 cm.) diameter
Sixteen butter plates, 6 3/8 in. (16.2 cm.) diameter
A pair of small shaped oval dishes, 6 in. (15.2 cm.) wide (192)

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

View condition report

Lot Essay

This impressive service was almost certainly created for William Maxwell, sixth Earl of Nithsdale (but under attainder), whose parents William, the fifth Earl (1676-1744) and Winifred, Countess of Nithsdale (1672-1749) were renowned for their dramatic escape from the Tower of London. The fifth earl had been imprisoned in the Tower and sentenced to death following his involvement in the Jacobean rising of 1715. Dismayed at her husband's fate, the Countess traveled to London from the family seat in Terregles, Scotland where she pleaded for clemency at the feet of George I. Though her appeals to the monarch were unsuccessful, Winifred managed to infiltrate the Tower with her retinue, and, on the on the eve of his execution in February 1716, orchestrated his escape by disguising him as one of her female companions. She then arranged for his flight to France where the couple was re-united and served in the exiled Jacobite court. The patron for the present service was one of only two surviving children of William and Winifred's union. He presided over his family's lands until his death in 1776.

More from Chinese Export Art

View All