Lot Essay
The arms are those of Baring impaling Bingham, as borne by Alexander Baring, 3rd Baron Ashburton (1774-1845). In 1798 he married Anne Louisa, daughter of William Bingham of Philadelphia, a member of the U.S. Senate.
Alexander Baring was a renowned financier and statesman. He was the head of Baring Brothers merchant bank for 18 years, a firm of which the Duc de Richelieu said, "There are six great powers in Europe, viz. England, France, Russia, Austria, Prussia and Baring Brothers" (Complete Peerage). Daniel Webster praised him as "a good man to deal with, who could see that there were two sides to a question." Baring was an enthusiastic art collector, and was a trustee of both the British Museum and the National Gallery.
Alexander Baring was a renowned financier and statesman. He was the head of Baring Brothers merchant bank for 18 years, a firm of which the Duc de Richelieu said, "There are six great powers in Europe, viz. England, France, Russia, Austria, Prussia and Baring Brothers" (Complete Peerage). Daniel Webster praised him as "a good man to deal with, who could see that there were two sides to a question." Baring was an enthusiastic art collector, and was a trustee of both the British Museum and the National Gallery.