Fergus Gambon
Director
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Lot 20*
A Flight, Barr and Barr Worcester cabinet cup and stand by Thomas Baxter, circa 1814-16
29 September 2021, 14:00 BST
London, Knightsbridge£6,000 - £10,000
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Anna Burnside
Head of Sale
A Flight, Barr and Barr Worcester cabinet cup and stand by Thomas Baxter, circa 1814-16
Finely painted with a portrait of King George III, the reverse with the figure of Britannia standing at the bow of a ship holding a compass and shield, her cloak billowing in the wind, both panels encircled by fine coloured 'jewelled' and gilt garlands, reserved on a deep blue ground with neoclassical gilding, a band of applied 'pearls' below the rim and around the well of the stand, the rims and handles fully gilt, cup 8cm high, stand 14cm diam, printed and script marks referring to Coventry Street address (2)
Footnotes
Provenance
Bonhams sale, 2 June 2004, lot 342
Twinight Collection
In order to frame his fine quality miniature paintings, it is likely that Thomas Baxter also designed the 'jewelled' borders. The 'jewels' are similar to those seen on the Lord Nelson and Duke of Wellington portrait medallions that Baxter created while he was at Flight, Barr and Barr. The footnote to lot 62 in this sale includes a quotation from Solomon Cole that strongly suggests these jewels were designed and applied under Baxter's direct supervision.
For the reverse panel on this royal portrait cup, Baxter has chosen Britannia, re-visiting a subject he had painted in 1806 on the celebrated Coalport plate now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, accession no. C.67-1984. This shows Britannia unveiling a bust of Nelson, and by reference to a drawing in the National Maritime Museum, John Sandon proved that the inspiration for Britannia was a sketch of Lady Hamilton drawn by Baxter at Merton. See The Regency Decorators of Worcester, International Ceramics Fair and Seminar Handbook 1991, p.35.
It is more than likely Baxter was also thinking of Emma Hamilton when he painted Britannia on the present lot. Another cup of the same shape, similarly jewelled and gilded, was painted by Baxter with a portrait of Sappho and in his version, the face and pose of Sappho bears an uncanny resemblance to that of his muse, Emma Hamilton. The Sappho cup is in the Ewers-Tyne Collection, see John Sandon, Worcester Porcelain at Cheekwood (2008), pp.130-131.