Een Engelse creamware schotel en bord met een schip en opschrift 'Joannes en Agnes van den Hove - Ostende', Wedgwood, gedat. 1785

Dim.: 40 x 31 cm (the oval dish)
Dia.: 24 cm (the plate)

It's remarkable that these pieces refer to the maritime trade from Ostend, then ruled by the Austrian East India Company, or Société Impériale asiatique de Trieste et Anvers, based in Ostend and the successor of the Ostend East-India Company.

The name of the sailing ship depicted is 'Agnes and Yoanna of Ostend'.
It was a common practice to name ships after women in this period. The ship's name refers to the owners, Agnes Verdonck (1743 -1835) and Joannes Van den Hove, married in Ostend in 1773.

The Imperial Habsburg flag, as depicted on the plate, refers to the administration of the Austrian Netherlands, present-day Belgium. The plate is dated 1785 and bears a Wedgwood mark, the oval dish is unmarked.