English delft pottery election plate dated 1754 with the inscription “Martin & Calvert” Bristol delft works.

Ref: 5522 Categories: ,

£5750

Dated: 1754 Private English collection

A rare delftware commemorative plate painted in blue on a white ground with a central panel representing a woolsack with tassles in each corner. The panel is inscribed "Martin and Calvert- For Ever-Sold by Webb, It is likely that the latter commissioned the plates for resale. Interestingly all the recorded examples of this piece are inscribed Calvert and Martin the juxtaposition the names on this piece adds a unique feature. The border is powder manganese and decorated with four panels in blue of flowers and leaves. The article below details the history surrounding the election of Martin and Calvert in Tewkesbury. "Tewkesbury was a placid borough, with the corporation in control. It was free from the cruder forms of bribery: instead, the Members paid a lump sum or else made a contribution towards some municipal undertaking. About 1754 the Dowdeswell, Martin, and Gage families had most influence in the borough: nine Dowdeswells had sat since 1660; the Martins held one seat 1734-47 and 1774-1807; and Lord Gage sat from 1721 to 1754. At the general election of 1754 a number of voters got together and agreed ‘to choose no Members but such as will give £1,500 each towards mending their roads’. William Dowdeswell and Lord Gage, the sitting Members, refused, and when a contest became apparent Dowdeswell declined. Gage thereupon stood jointly with his son Thomas (the general) against John Martin and Nicolson Calvert, who had accepted the borough’s terms. Calvert and Martin ‘made their public entry into the town with pickaxes and shovels carried before them, and flags, with inscriptions thereon of “Calvert and Martin” on one side, and “good roads” on the other’.

Diameter: 9 inches

Current Condition: Some good professional restoration to cracks and rim chips.

Provenance: Private English Collection.

Literature: Lipski and Archer "Dated English Delftware" page 130 figure 579

£5750    $7762

Description

A rare delftware commemorative plate painted in blue on a white ground with a central panel representing a woolsack with tassles in each corner. The panel is inscribed “Martin and Calvert- For Ever-Sold by Webb, It is likely that the latter commissioned the plates for resale. Interestingly all the recorded examples of this piece are inscribed Calvert and Martin the juxtaposition the names on this piece adds a unique feature.
The border is powder manganese and decorated with four panels in blue of flowers and leaves.
The article below details the history surrounding the election of Martin and Calvert in Tewkesbury.
“Tewkesbury was a placid borough, with the corporation in control. It was free from the cruder forms of bribery: instead, the Members paid a lump sum or else made a contribution towards some municipal undertaking. About 1754 the Dowdeswell, Martin, and Gage families had most influence in the borough: nine Dowdeswells had sat since 1660; the Martins held one seat 1734-47 and 1774-1807; and Lord Gage sat from 1721 to 1754.

At the general election of 1754 a number of voters got together and agreed ‘to choose no Members but such as will give £1,500 each towards mending their roads’. William Dowdeswell and Lord Gage, the sitting Members, refused, and when a contest became apparent Dowdeswell declined. Gage thereupon stood jointly with his son Thomas (the general) against John Martin and Nicolson Calvert, who had accepted the borough’s terms. Calvert and Martin ‘made their public entry into the town with pickaxes and shovels carried before them, and flags, with inscriptions thereon of “Calvert and Martin” on one side, and “good roads” on the other’.