A FINE GEORGE II SILVER SWEETMEAT BASKET

Details

A FINE GEORGE II SILVER SWEETMEAT BASKET
MAKER'S MARK OF PAUL DE LAMERIE, LONDON, 1742

Shaped-oval and on four cherub's mask and scroll feet, applied with cast ladybird, bee, grotesque mask, shell and scroll border, the sides pierced and chased with scroll, foliage and flowers and applied with date palms and flowers, the swing handle applied with shells, scrolls, foliage and cherub's mask, the centre engraved with a coat-of-arms within rococo cartouche, marked on underside, engraved with scratch weight 15
7¼in. (18.3cm.) long
14ozs. (459grs.)

The arms are those of Franks impaling Evans for David Franks of Philadelphia (c.1720-1793) and his wife Margaret Evans, daughter of the Sheriff of Philadelphia and Collector of Customs, whom he married in 1743

Provenance

Supplied to David Franks of Philadelphia and then by descent to his niece,
Isabella Cooper and then by descent to
The Beneficiaries under the Will of The Late Dame Isabella Bell Cooper, Christie's, 25 February, 1913, lot 36, (£265 to S. J. Phillips)

Lot Essay

The present sweetmeat basket forms part of an important tea service thought to have been a wedding present sent to David Franks, probably by Napthali Franks, who was himself a client of Paul de Lamerie. The sale recorded above also included the tea kettle and cake basket from the same service, by Paul de Lamerie, 1744. These are now in the George D. Widner and Eleanor W. Dixon Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The sugar bowl from the service is also in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the gift of Irwin Untermeyer. The basket and tea kettle were exhibited London, The Goldsmiths' Hall, Paul de Lamerie, The Work of England's Master Silversmith, 1688-1751, nos. 109 and 110

Lot Essay

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