MARK OF GEORGE GARTHORNE, LONDON, 1688

Details

A James II silver monteith
Mark of George Garthorne, London, 1688
Hemispherical on reeded rim foot, with reeded border, the sides chased with five chinoiserie panels depicting warriors and sages within landscapes with clouds above, the two drop-ring handles with winged lion's mask terminals, the detachable notched collar chased with birds, flowers and foliage and with cast acanthus and beaded border, the body engraved on the sixth panel with a coat-of-arms within foliate mantling, the base later engraved with initials '*N* *H*P*', and with a presentation inscription, marked on base, handles and collar
11¼in. (28.8cm.) diam.
56oz. (1,757gr.)
The arms are those of the Royal African Company
The inscription reads, 'The Gift of Henr^y Martin to his Daughter Catherine Henrietta Martin Sep 2. 1779'

Provenance

F.C. Holdsworth Esq.; Christie's London, 6 April 1921, lot 50
G.A. Lockett Esq.; Christie's London, 22 April 1942, lot 86
Anon. sale; Christie's New York, 18 October 1989, lot 215

Literature

'Two Bowls and a Tazza', Country Life, 2 April 1921
The Glory of the Goldsmith, Magnificent Gold and Silver from the Al-Tajir Collection, London, 1989, no.41, p.62

Exhibited

London, Christie's, The Glory of the Goldsmith, Magnificent Gold and Silver from the Al-Tajir Collection, 1989, no.41

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

The Royal African Company, founded in 1672, was established primarily to license London merchants in the slave trade in competition with the Portuguese and Dutch. Although in earlier decades English captains had held the slave trade in some contempt, the growth of sugar plantations in the Caribbean established a voracious market for labour and the merchant captains began to see the profits to be made. Their involvement in the slave trade between Africa and the Caribbean was formalised in 1660 with a company of London traders with exclusive rights to Africa, but this was mismanaged and eventually dissolved. The Royal African Company was set up in its place with exclusivity of rights that guaranteed that any other trader, called an 'interloper', not associated with the Company, had to pay a tax of 10 to the Company. The Company's trade rapidly advanced into vast numbers, and they established holding forts on the West African coast to process hundreds of voyages carrying some 5,000 slaves per year. The number of 'interlopers' increased, however, and resentment against the tax grew until 1698 when Parliament repealed the Company's monopoly. This had the effect of increasing fourfold the slave traffic. The Company survived and in 1750 became a full partner in a new company of merchants trading with Africa.

When sold by Christie's both in 1921 and 1942, the present monteith was accompanied by a Chinoiserie tazza dated 1688, maker's mark I*R, and engraved with the arms of the Royal African Company. It is now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Two other Chinoiserie monteiths of 1688 by Garthorne have been sold by Christie's; 27 November 1935, lot 120, and 29 October 1947, lot 157.

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