The eight dishes were once part of a larger porcelain service related to the Red Rover, a clipper ship that transported opium from India to China from 1830 to the early 1850s (before it was reportedly lost at sea in 1853) and renowned for its speed. The vessel was built in Calcutta in 1829 and owned by Captain William Clifton in its initial years before it was sold to the British trading firm, Jardine, Matheson and Company. The clipper also frequented Singapore enroute its journeys between India and China. All the dishes are painted with a floral spray encircled by the words “Red Rover” in orange-red enamels at the centre. The rims of all dishes are decorated with a repeating diaper and butterfly motif, with the flatter dinner dishes featuring an additional band of geometric patterns. It was extremely rare for a ship to commission its own service, and the porcelain dishes highlight the owners’ pride in the vessel and the wealth it generated for them. They were probably used on board the Red Rover or in the homes of the ship’s owners.