A hybrid paste porcelain dinner service comprising plates, tureens, sauce boats and tureens for soup, dinner and dessert, each piece individually decorated with Japanese inspired designs.

During a visit to Worcester in September 1807, the future George IV toured both of the principal porcelain factories - Barr, Flight & Barr and H. & R. Chamberlain - and granted each of them his Royal Warrant. From the Chamberlain factory he ordered dinner, dessert and breakfast services; each piece was to be decorated in a completely different pattern, described by Chamberlain as 'copied from old India and other China'. The 140-piece harlequin dessert service was the first to be delivered, in July 1811. The matching dinner service, which took a further five years to complete, consisted of six large round soup tureens, two tureens for vegetables and six for sauce (all with stands), twelve dozen dinner plates, eight dozen soup plates, one hundred and forty-seven dishes of varying shapes and sizes and sixteen candlesticks. The painted decoration considerably extended the repertoire of 'Old Japan' patterns developed by Chamberlain from around 1800, to encompass Chinese famille rose and other styles in addition to countless variations on Japanese Imari designs. Several hundred of the original watercolour designs survive in a pattern book in the Royal Worcester Porcelain Museum.

Several members of the Chamberlain family were associated with the early history of porcelain manufacture at Worcester. Robert Chamberlain served his apprenticeship in the factory begun by Dr John Wall in 1751, and he and his two sons Robert and Humphrey were employed as decorators by Thomas Flight before starting their own production in around 1791. Following the elder Robert's death in 1798, this firm belonged to his sons and traded as H. & R. Chamberlain. Royal patronage helped to bring their productions to a wider public and on the strength of George IV's order they decided to open a showroom in London, where they promoted their new porcelain body known as 'The Regent'.

Now comprising 17 plates, 9 large plates, 1 large plate, 2 large circular plates, 84 soup plates, 3 dessert dishes, 1 circular tureen with cover and stand, 6 oval tureens with cover and stands, 3 oval tureens with covers and stands, 5 fruit dishes, 3 oval serving dishes, 4 oval serving dishes, 3 oval serving dishes, 3 oval serving dishes, 3 oval serving dishes, 2 large oval serving dishes, 1 meat dish, 1 warming dish and cover, 1 serving dish, 2 ice pails

Catalogue entry from 'Royal Treasures, A Golden Jubilee Celebration', London 2002

Measurements: Plates 3.7 x 28.3 x 28.3, large plates 3.6 x 31.2 x 31.2, large plate 4.0 x 32.8 x 32.8, large circular plates 3.6 x 29.5, soup plates 4.5 x 23.4 x 23.4, dessert dishes 4.7 x 29.8 x 22.7, circular tureen with cover 24.0 x 32.2 x 26.5 and stand 4.8 x 30.7, oval tureens with cover 14.5 x 19.8 x 11.0 and stands 2.7 x 20.3 x 14.4, 3 oval tureens with covers 26.0 x 38.5 x 21.3 and stands 4.7 x 35.8 x 24.7, fruit dishes 4.2 x 24.5, oval serving dishes 3.6 x 36.7 x 28.6, oval serving dishes 4.0 x 39.1 x 29.3, oval serving dishes 4.4 x 42.3 x 31.1, oval serving dishes 4.6 x 46.8 x 34.6, oval serving dishes 4.8 x 51.6 x 39.9, large oval serving dishes 5.5 x 56.1 x 44.0, meat dish 5.0 x 50.0 x 38.2, warming dish 9.0 x 33.5 x 25.6 and cover 8.3 x 36.6 x 22.8, serving dish 5.1 x 52.0 x 39.5, ice pails 22.6 x 31.0 x 21.4 cm