Lot Essay
This oval tray and stand, with its distinctive lion supports, is closely related to those from the 'Prussian Service' which was commissioned by Wilhelm III King of Prussia from the Royal Berlin manufactory in circa 1817-19 as a gift to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (d. 1852) in gratitude for his part in the defeat of Napoleon. The etched gilt border closely resembles those of the Duke's service, and the stand, of a form designed at Berlin for elaborate tureens, is the same model as those used for the Duke's tureen-stands. See W. and I. Baer, The Prussian Service, The Duke of Wellington's Berlin Dinner-Service, Exhibition Catalogue, 1988, p. 99, pl. 9.