Two Caughley asparagus servers circa 1770 transfer-printed in underglaze blue with the Pleasure Boat pattern between a cell diaper and spearhead border, unglazed bases, single painted 'So' mark, widest point 7.5cm (2) Provenance: Ex. Wychwood Collection. Note: Asparagus was first introduced by the Romans, with this young shoot from a cultivated plant of the lily family coming back to our shores during the reign of Henry VIII. Such was its popularity, that by the eighteenth century, Britain grew more asparagus than any other country.