A Worcester (Flight) Plate from the 'Hope Service', Commissioned by The Duke of Clarence and St. Andrews (Later King William IV), Circa 1790
No reserve
Auction Closed
January 31, 05:43 PM GMT
Estimate
4,000 - 6,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
A Worcester (Flight) Plate from the 'Hope Service', Commissioned by The Duke of Clarence and St. Andrews (Later King William IV), Circa 1790
the center painted in monochrome by John Pennington with a standing figure of Hope beside an anchor on a shoreline and gesturing towards a distant ship on the sea, the shaped border with gilt arched panels and paterae reserved on a blue ground enriched with gilt stars, crowned script mark and crescent moon in blue
diameter 9 7/8 in.
25 cm
Please note in the printed catalogue the current lot illustration is labelled as lot 79.
H. R. H. William Henry, Duke of Clarence and St. Andrews, later H. M. King William IV
George Augustus Frederick FitzClarence, Earl of Munster
Elizabeth, Countess of Erroll and her husband William George, 18th Earl of Erroll
Charles, 20th Earl of Erroll, Christie's London, 11 May 1893, lots 104-165
Sotheby's New York, 7 April 2004, lot 53 (one of two)
George Augustus Frederick FitzClarence, Earl of Munster
Elizabeth, Countess of Erroll and her husband William George, 18th Earl of Erroll
Charles, 20th Earl of Erroll, Christie's London, 11 May 1893, lots 104-165
Sotheby's New York, 7 April 2004, lot 53 (one of two)
The present plate, and the following lot belonged to the service commissioned by William, Duke of Clarence (later King William IV), third son of King George III, who used it at his home Bushy House in south west London.
The service comprised over 260 pieces and cost the Duke 800 guineas. John Flight, the proprietor of the factory recorded in his diary in January 1790:
‘We used our two best painters last week to make some very fine designs for the Duke of Clarence, we have already completed 3 plates and I have sent them to London. One is a gold arabesque design, another the figure of Hope, the other of Patience.’ The service was displayed to the public at Flight's factory before it was dispatched to London in April 1791.
In 1797, King George III, offered William the post of Ranger of Bushy Park. It is here that William lived with his mistress, the actress Dorothea Jordan, and their ten illegitimate children, all of whom were given the surname FitzClarence. The service seemingly is then passed to his 6th child with Dorothea, his daughter Elizabeth, who in 1820 became the Countess of Errol upon marrying William Hay, the 18th Earl of Erroll. It remained in the collection of the Earls of Erroll until it was sold by Charles, 20th Earl of Erroll, at Christie's on 11 May 1893, lots 104-165. A large group of pieces from the service was sold at Christie's London, 16 February 1900, lots 228-246.
Since the turn of the century pieces have infrequently appeared at auction. Fifty-three pieces were sold at Christie's London, 24 February 1997, lot 65, formerly in the Collection of Sir Henry Sutcliffe-Smith, sold, Christie's London, 7 June 1976, lot 39. A further plate was sold at Sotheby's London, 5 October 2005, lot 126, and three large platters (17 1/4 in. wide) were sold at Christie’s New York, 18 May 2006, lot 518. The service is discussed in some detail by Henry Sandon, Flight and Barr Worcester Porcelain, Woodbridge 1978, pp. 27-28, 230-231.
The service had long been somewhat romantically associated to Horatio Lord Nelson, perhaps prompted by its nautical subject and the figures of Hope bearing a likeness to Emma Hamilton's famous 'Attitudes'.
The service comprised over 260 pieces and cost the Duke 800 guineas. John Flight, the proprietor of the factory recorded in his diary in January 1790:
‘We used our two best painters last week to make some very fine designs for the Duke of Clarence, we have already completed 3 plates and I have sent them to London. One is a gold arabesque design, another the figure of Hope, the other of Patience.’ The service was displayed to the public at Flight's factory before it was dispatched to London in April 1791.
In 1797, King George III, offered William the post of Ranger of Bushy Park. It is here that William lived with his mistress, the actress Dorothea Jordan, and their ten illegitimate children, all of whom were given the surname FitzClarence. The service seemingly is then passed to his 6th child with Dorothea, his daughter Elizabeth, who in 1820 became the Countess of Errol upon marrying William Hay, the 18th Earl of Erroll. It remained in the collection of the Earls of Erroll until it was sold by Charles, 20th Earl of Erroll, at Christie's on 11 May 1893, lots 104-165. A large group of pieces from the service was sold at Christie's London, 16 February 1900, lots 228-246.
Since the turn of the century pieces have infrequently appeared at auction. Fifty-three pieces were sold at Christie's London, 24 February 1997, lot 65, formerly in the Collection of Sir Henry Sutcliffe-Smith, sold, Christie's London, 7 June 1976, lot 39. A further plate was sold at Sotheby's London, 5 October 2005, lot 126, and three large platters (17 1/4 in. wide) were sold at Christie’s New York, 18 May 2006, lot 518. The service is discussed in some detail by Henry Sandon, Flight and Barr Worcester Porcelain, Woodbridge 1978, pp. 27-28, 230-231.
The service had long been somewhat romantically associated to Horatio Lord Nelson, perhaps prompted by its nautical subject and the figures of Hope bearing a likeness to Emma Hamilton's famous 'Attitudes'.
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