A PAIR OF BOW CRESTED LARGE HANDLES

Details

A PAIR OF BOW CRESTED LARGE HANDLES
Circa 1756-8

Of pistol form, the crest of three ostrich feathers erected Argent issuant from an Eastern crown Or, painted en grisaille and in colours with loose bouquets and scattered flowers and gilt with scrolls, the fork with three tines
4 1/8in. (10.5cm.) long (2)

Provenance

Anon., sale Sotheby's, 8 July 1980, lot 94 (part)

Literature

Tony Stevenson, 'A Review of Bow & Worcester Knife and Fork Hafts', E.C.C. Transactions, Vol. 13, Pt. 3, pl. 187a(i) (for the fork only) and col. pl. C

Lot Essay

The crest is that of Mendes. The cutlery was made for Moses (Luis) Mendes who married his cousin Lydia in 1747. His obituary in the Gentleman's Magazine, 7 December 1790, described him as 'one of the first merchants of the City of London'

Other examples were sold at Sotheby's on 21 February 1995, lots 61-61 (the footnote to lot 61 records Tony Stevenson's research on the original owner of the service). See also Anton Gabszewicz and Geoffrey Freeman, op. cit., p. 88, no. 128

The hand is most probably the same as that on the armorial plate, lot 66 in this sale

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