Plate, c. 1772, 7/8 x 9 3/8 x 9 3/8 in. (2.22 x 23.81 x 23.81 cm), Porcelain with enamel and gilded decoration, China, 18th century, Porcelain fulfilled consumer needs for highly-personalized prestige objects and served to commemorate events. The coat of arms on this dessert plate is of the Pitt and Grenville families, and was made soon after William Pitt (1708-78), one of the most important English prime ministers of the eighteenth century, became a member of the peerage as Viscount Pitt and Earl of Chatham. The Grenville arms refer to his wife, Hester Grenville, Viscountess Cobham, whom he married in about 1755.