A WORCESTER (BARR, FLIGHT & BARR) PORCELAIN OVAL DISH FROM THE STOWE SERVICE, CIRCA 1813 painted with the arms of the 2nd Marquis of Buckingham with his wife Anna Eliza de jure Baroness Kinloss in pretence, with elaborate salmon-pink and gilt arabesque borders impressed BFB mark, 30cm wide, restored Provenance of the greater part of the service: 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, Stowe Park; 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, sold by Christie and Manson, Stowe Park, 23rd August 1848, lot 956 (186 pieces); T. Delarue Esq., Bunhill Row, London; 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, Stowe Park; Baroness of Kinloss, sold by Jackson Stops, Stowe Park, 25th July 1921, lot 3069 (82 pieces) J. Rochelle Thomas, St James's, London Described as 'The Most Magnificent Dinner Service in the World' by J. Rochelle Thomas in the Connoisseur, 1923, the Stowe service was apparently commissioned in 1813 by Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 2nd Marquess of Buckingham (1776-1839, created 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos in 1822): he had succeeded to his father's titles and estates that year, which is also the year the Worcester factory name changed from Barr, Flight & Barr to Flight, Barr & Barr, accounting for both marks BFB and FBB being found on the service. Each piece was meticulously painted with the complicated armorials and the same salmon-pink and gilt border. Having inherited the service from his father, the 2nd Duke was forced by bankruptcy to sell and the service appeared on the eighth day of the famous Stowe sale, conducted by Christie and Manson over forty days. Then comprising of 186 pieces, it was knocked down to T. Delarue Esq. of Bunhill Row for £28.18.0. Both during and following the sale, the 2nd Duke's son (the 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos) acquired many Stowe pieces, including much of the service, which were passed down to his heir and eldest daughter, The Right Honourable Baroness of Kinloss, C.I. Financial pressures on the estate caused a second Stowe sale in 1921, when the remaining 82 pieces were sold to the dealer J. Rochelle Thomas. Since then parts of the service have passed through the salerooms on a number of occasions, including a large group acquired by Mrs Jessie Woolworth Donahue, sold Sotheby's, London, 12th March 1974, lot 63. More recents sales include: a pair of plates, Christie's, New York, 24th November 2009, lot 151, sold for 30,000; and a 14in oval stand, Northeast Auctions, Portsmouth NH, 28th May 2011, lot 216 sold for 24,190.