Pot with cover

Bulb pot commemorating Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson (1758-1805). The semi-circular pot has a separate top with five funnels for bulbs and seven tubes inside for flower stems. It stands on three ball feet with a moulded and painted fluted panel at the bottom and a crinkled top. The surface is painted in brick red and gilt. Black printed transfers depict Nelson in the centre, trophies below inscribed 'ENGLAND EXPECTS THAT EVERY MAN WILL DO HIS DUTY', 'NILE TRAFALGAR', 'ADMIRAL LORD NELSON', 'VICTORY'. To the left is a young lady in a bonnet, dress and coat, and to the right a young gentleman. Although the inscriptions on the latter have been scratched out, they originally represented Colonel Gwyllym Lloyd Wardle MP (1762-1833) and Miss Mary Ann Taylor. Taylor accused the Duke of York's mistress, Mary Ann Clarke, of selling her influence with the Duke (at that time Commander in Chief) to army officers seeking promotion. Wardle introduced a motion in the house alleging corruption by the Duke in 1809 and enjoyed short-lived popularity.

Object Details

ID: AAA4964
Collection: Decorative art
Type: Pot with cover
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Unknown
Events: Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Trafalgar, 1805; French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of the Nile, 1798
Date made: circa 1809; circa 1806
People: Nelson, Horatio; Wardle, Gwillym Lloyd Taylor, Mary Ann
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Nelson-Ward Collection
Measurements: Overall: 180 x 200 x 110 mm
Parts: Pot with cover