In terms of aesthetic and social ambition, one early English porcelain factory stood head and shoulders above the rest: Chelsea, where this tureen was made. Founded by Nicholas Sprimont, an extremely gifted goldsmith, modeller and designer from Liège, Chelsea aimed at the top end of the British market, and gained aristocratic and ambassadorial support in its attempts to rival imports from the royal factories of Meissen and Sèvres. Meissen had been the first to make trompe-l'oeil dining wares in vegetable or animal shapes, but it was left to Chelsea (and some of the French tin-glazed earthenware factories) to further explore the idea.