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Lot Essay
KENSINGTON LEWIS
The name Kensington Lewis, at whose instructions the present ewers were almost certainly made, is associated with some of the most innovative silver of the early 19th century. This is particularly true with the extraordinary group of silver which he supplied to Prince Fredrick Augustus, Duke of York the second son of King George III. His work anticipates the full-blown historicism of the mid-19th century. The Duke of York and his elder brother, the Prince Regent, later King George IV, were together the most influential collectors and patrons of silver of their time. The Duke of York's silver, however, was based largely on baroque sources, and stands apart from the classical styles promoted by the Royal Goldsmiths, Rundell Bridge & Rundell and supplied to the King.
Credit for the distinctive style of the Duke of York's silver must be given to Kensington Lewis, whose passion for 17th-century silver was demonstrated by his purchases in the Duke of Norfolk's auction in 1816. There, he acquired a salver decorated with "figures of marine deities" or "sea nymphs and tritons in relief," and a tankard with "a feast of the Gods, in exquisite bas-relief ... Alexander visiting the tent of Darius ... the handle formed as a syren." Such objects in Lewis's possession undoubtedly influenced his designs for new silver objects, executed for him by Edward Farrell. John Culme proposed this thesis in his important study, "Kensington Lewis: A Nineteenth Century Businessman," Connoisseur, September 1975.
Lewis, an expert salesman, was able to channel the Duke of York's profligate spending toward Farrell, a talented silversmith capable of creating new designs from a variety of historical sources. It was this phenomenal collaboration of patron, retailer, and craftsman which resulted in these extravagant and highly original objects.
The name Kensington Lewis, at whose instructions the present ewers were almost certainly made, is associated with some of the most innovative silver of the early 19th century. This is particularly true with the extraordinary group of silver which he supplied to Prince Fredrick Augustus, Duke of York the second son of King George III. His work anticipates the full-blown historicism of the mid-19th century. The Duke of York and his elder brother, the Prince Regent, later King George IV, were together the most influential collectors and patrons of silver of their time. The Duke of York's silver, however, was based largely on baroque sources, and stands apart from the classical styles promoted by the Royal Goldsmiths, Rundell Bridge & Rundell and supplied to the King.
Credit for the distinctive style of the Duke of York's silver must be given to Kensington Lewis, whose passion for 17th-century silver was demonstrated by his purchases in the Duke of Norfolk's auction in 1816. There, he acquired a salver decorated with "figures of marine deities" or "sea nymphs and tritons in relief," and a tankard with "a feast of the Gods, in exquisite bas-relief ... Alexander visiting the tent of Darius ... the handle formed as a syren." Such objects in Lewis's possession undoubtedly influenced his designs for new silver objects, executed for him by Edward Farrell. John Culme proposed this thesis in his important study, "Kensington Lewis: A Nineteenth Century Businessman," Connoisseur, September 1975.
Lewis, an expert salesman, was able to channel the Duke of York's profligate spending toward Farrell, a talented silversmith capable of creating new designs from a variety of historical sources. It was this phenomenal collaboration of patron, retailer, and craftsman which resulted in these extravagant and highly original objects.