A pair of George II silver Meat Dishes, Birmingham 1777
Length: 42 1/2 cm
Width: 30 1/2 cm
Weight: 62 oz (1,928 g)

Of oval form with ribbon and tie border, engraved with the crest of Roberts of Shropshire.
Surviving work from the partnership of Matthew Boulton and John Fothergill is rare, and pairs of meat dishes virtually unique. The tied reeded borders on these dishes are identical to those on Boulton & Fothergill's service for Mrs Elizabeth Montagu, the celebrated intellectual of the period, who was known as the 'Queen of the Bluestockings'.
Artist Biography:
Matthew Boulton of Birmingham ran a complex manufactory, employing good design and increasing quality while keeping prices low. As one of the Lunar Society and very much part of the Industrial Revolution, he started both the Birmingham and Sheffield Assay Offices in 1773 and was one of the first to curtail child labour and introduce a social and medical security plan for his craftsmen. With his partner, John Fothergill Boulton established the Soho Manufactory near Birmingham in 1762 and produced ormolu, Sheffield-plate, silver, clocks and other ornamental wares for English and European royal and noble patrons including George III, Catherine II, The Empress of Russia, and The Prince of Wales, later George IV.