KANGXI/YONGZHENG PERIOD, CIRCA 1722-1723

The present ewers and charger derive from the iron-red and polychrome service made circa 1722 for John Fortescue-Acland, later 1^st Baron Fortescue of Credan, who married Elizabeth Dormer in 1721. Also extant is a service with the same arms, apparently commissioned simultaneously with the present service, but executed in blue-and-white with gilt embellishment. Discussing the twin services, David Sanctuary Howard writes "it was not uncommon to order two armorial services with the same arms at the same time – one in underglaze blue and one in polychrome (usually rouge-de-fer and gold). The purpose is not clear – perhaps one for the country estate and one for London, or perhaps as 'best' and 'everyday'". For the full discussion and a plate from each service, see D.S. Howard, The Choice of the Private Trader: The Private Market in Chinese Export Porcelain Illustrated from the Hodroff Collection, London, 1994, p. 55, nos. 26 and 27.