A Kerr and Binns plate from the Shakespeare Service, circa 1853
The border with Renaissance ornament in biscuit relief on a gold dotted ground, the reserved panels of Shakespeare by Luke Wells and Thalia and Melpomene by Thomas Bott, 24.5cm diam, impressed mark
Footnotes
Provenance: Venners Antiques, New Cavendish Street, London. This is one of a pair of plates in the Zorensky Collection, the other sold by Bonhams London, 10 September 2008, lot 373. This highly important service was created for the Dublin Exhibition in 1853 and to appeal to Irish nobility, Irish gold was used as well as Irish clay. The clay was untested, however, and as a result most of the pieces that survive from this set have cracked or broken. Opening the exhibition, Queen Victoria was so impressed she asked to examine the set in her private apartments. The service was bought by Sir Arthur Guinness. Forty years later, R W Binns bought half of the set back for his museum, as he regarded the Shakespeare Service as his greatest achievement.
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