Painted with four putti supporting floral swags, the narrow, raised rim is decorated with a continuous band of formal foliage, 18cm.
Brownlow, 9th Earl of Exeter (1725-1793), who travelled to Italy on two occasions, was very much drawn to the subject matter and colours of Italian majolica and purchased a considerable number of pieces.
The mediaeval hill town of Castelli in the Abruzzo has long been known for its majolica wares.
They were particularly popular with the English nobility and other Grand Tourists from the 16th to the 18th Centuries and are still made in the town to this day.