Three Derby plates of Trotter service type, c.1825, painted probably by Moses Webster with bold

Three Derby plates of Trotter service type, c.1825, painted probably by Moses Webster with bold floral arrangements to the well, the borders with panels of single flower stems alternating with green, the larger plate inscribed to the reverse in gilt with 'John Trotter Esq. Durham Park', the smaller plates with iron red crowned crossed baton marks, the larger broken and restuck, 25cm max. (3)

Provenance: the Martin Mortimer Collection.

John Trotter made his money as a government supplier during the Napoleonic Wars. When the wars ended in 1815 he reinvented his unused warehouse space in Soho as Soho Bazaar, an early type of department store with space rented out to different traders. Trotter purchased Durham Park (now Dyrham Park) in South Mimms, Heartfordshire in 1798. The service was ordered from Derby around 1820-25 and originally consisted of some 180 pieces. It was later split between two members of the Trotter family.