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Lot Essay
WILLIAM CARY
William Cary of Clovelly's wife Joan died tragically aged 18. Although she was laid to rest in St Decuman's Church, near the Somerset fishing port of Watchet, a memorial to her was raised by her husband in her memory in Clovelly Church. It is recorded in Henry Hamilton Rogers' work, The Ancient Sepulchral Effigies and Monumental and Memorial Sculpture of Devon, London, 1877, p. 324. A Latin inscription on the memorial read 'She was truly exceptional in beauty, conduct, and virtue; yet when we say she was exceptional, we mourners must fall silent, for words cannot do her justice.'
William Cary (c.1661-1710) was the second son of George Cary, Dean of Exeter Cathedral. He was educated at Queen's College Oxford and on leaving he entered the Middle Temple. He was elected to Parliament as M.P. for Okehampton in 1685 and was re-elected in 1687. In 1695 he was elected as member for Launceston, a seat he held until his death in 1710. A supporter of the Glorious Revolution, Cary had joined the forces of William of Orange in 1689. Seen as a Tory, he was not particularly active in Parliament.
Following the untimely death of his young bride he married secondly Mary Mansel (d.1701), daughter of Thomas Mansel of Briton Ferry, Glamorgan in 1694, who brought a dowry of £5,000. Her death is also recorded on a memorial in Clovelly Church. She had three sons and two daughters, however, one son died as an infant and the other two both died aged 26 unmarried. With them the male line of the Cary family of Clovelly died out. The younger daughter Elizabeth (1699-1738) inherited the estate, which was sold following her death. A large James II Porringer made in London in 1685 also by Hugh Roberts, engraved with the same arms, was sold by Mary Cooke Antiques, London.
HUGH ROBERTS ALIAS HUMPHRIES
Roberts was the son of the Denbighshire yeoman Robert Humphrey of Eglwys Fach. Until the mid-16th century, the Welsh employed a patronymic naming system, under which Hugh would have been styled Hugh ap Humphrey, literally 'Hugh, son of Humphrey'. The Laws in Wales Acts of 1535 and 1542, however, required the Welsh to adopt fixed surnames in the English fashion. Hugh signed his name as Hugh Humphries on entering his apprenticeship in 1672, but later reverted to Welsh custom and adopted the name Hugh Roberts. When elected to the Livery of the Goldsmiths' Company, both names were recorded, the entry reading: 'Hugh Roberts alias Humphries'.
Dr. Mitchell op. cit., p, 329-330 records his various infractions of the hallmarking laws and nine works, including the present lot. From his surviving works he appears to have conducted a significant amount of business with the London parishes, including St. Margaret's Westminster to whom he delivered a communion paten in 1665. His domestic plate included porringers and a pair of candlesticks of 1686, now in the collection of Clare College, Cambridge. Beyond London he supplied a pair of large communion cups, patens and a communion plate to the church of St. Alkmond's Shrewsbury, in 1683. These were sold at Christie's, London, 25 November 2008, lots 270 and 271.
HAROLD HARMSWORTH, 1ST VISCOUNT ROTHERMERE
Lord Rothermere was a considerable collector of early silver. Much of his collection was dispersed at a major sale, held at Christie’s on 3 December 1941, which included the present lot. The sale totalled over £29,000. It was clearly a very personal collection as The Times article, which reported on the auction, commented ‘Connoisseurs have long known of the late Lord Rothermere’s collections of pictures by old masters and his magnificent assemblage of decorative furniture, but few had suspected his love of old English Silver.’
He was not only a great collector of silver for his own account, but also as a major benefactor to the Middle Temple, where he was elected an Honorary Bencher in 1928. On realising that the Inn had no silver predating 1663, all earlier pieces having been lost to the ‘voracious dragon’ or the Civil War melting pot, he took steps to remedy the situation. Between the years 1931 and 1940 he gave the Middle Temple twenty-three pieces of silver dating from 1557 to 1658. Some pieces came from his own collection, although the majority were bought by him, often at Christie's. It is said that he or his driver would arrive at the Under Treasurer's office unannounced, with the latest piece wrapped in one of his own newspapers.
William Cary of Clovelly's wife Joan died tragically aged 18. Although she was laid to rest in St Decuman's Church, near the Somerset fishing port of Watchet, a memorial to her was raised by her husband in her memory in Clovelly Church. It is recorded in Henry Hamilton Rogers' work, The Ancient Sepulchral Effigies and Monumental and Memorial Sculpture of Devon, London, 1877, p. 324. A Latin inscription on the memorial read 'She was truly exceptional in beauty, conduct, and virtue; yet when we say she was exceptional, we mourners must fall silent, for words cannot do her justice.'
William Cary (c.1661-1710) was the second son of George Cary, Dean of Exeter Cathedral. He was educated at Queen's College Oxford and on leaving he entered the Middle Temple. He was elected to Parliament as M.P. for Okehampton in 1685 and was re-elected in 1687. In 1695 he was elected as member for Launceston, a seat he held until his death in 1710. A supporter of the Glorious Revolution, Cary had joined the forces of William of Orange in 1689. Seen as a Tory, he was not particularly active in Parliament.
Following the untimely death of his young bride he married secondly Mary Mansel (d.1701), daughter of Thomas Mansel of Briton Ferry, Glamorgan in 1694, who brought a dowry of £5,000. Her death is also recorded on a memorial in Clovelly Church. She had three sons and two daughters, however, one son died as an infant and the other two both died aged 26 unmarried. With them the male line of the Cary family of Clovelly died out. The younger daughter Elizabeth (1699-1738) inherited the estate, which was sold following her death. A large James II Porringer made in London in 1685 also by Hugh Roberts, engraved with the same arms, was sold by Mary Cooke Antiques, London.
HUGH ROBERTS ALIAS HUMPHRIES
Roberts was the son of the Denbighshire yeoman Robert Humphrey of Eglwys Fach. Until the mid-16th century, the Welsh employed a patronymic naming system, under which Hugh would have been styled Hugh ap Humphrey, literally 'Hugh, son of Humphrey'. The Laws in Wales Acts of 1535 and 1542, however, required the Welsh to adopt fixed surnames in the English fashion. Hugh signed his name as Hugh Humphries on entering his apprenticeship in 1672, but later reverted to Welsh custom and adopted the name Hugh Roberts. When elected to the Livery of the Goldsmiths' Company, both names were recorded, the entry reading: 'Hugh Roberts alias Humphries'.
Dr. Mitchell op. cit., p, 329-330 records his various infractions of the hallmarking laws and nine works, including the present lot. From his surviving works he appears to have conducted a significant amount of business with the London parishes, including St. Margaret's Westminster to whom he delivered a communion paten in 1665. His domestic plate included porringers and a pair of candlesticks of 1686, now in the collection of Clare College, Cambridge. Beyond London he supplied a pair of large communion cups, patens and a communion plate to the church of St. Alkmond's Shrewsbury, in 1683. These were sold at Christie's, London, 25 November 2008, lots 270 and 271.
HAROLD HARMSWORTH, 1ST VISCOUNT ROTHERMERE
Lord Rothermere was a considerable collector of early silver. Much of his collection was dispersed at a major sale, held at Christie’s on 3 December 1941, which included the present lot. The sale totalled over £29,000. It was clearly a very personal collection as The Times article, which reported on the auction, commented ‘Connoisseurs have long known of the late Lord Rothermere’s collections of pictures by old masters and his magnificent assemblage of decorative furniture, but few had suspected his love of old English Silver.’
He was not only a great collector of silver for his own account, but also as a major benefactor to the Middle Temple, where he was elected an Honorary Bencher in 1928. On realising that the Inn had no silver predating 1663, all earlier pieces having been lost to the ‘voracious dragon’ or the Civil War melting pot, he took steps to remedy the situation. Between the years 1931 and 1940 he gave the Middle Temple twenty-three pieces of silver dating from 1557 to 1658. Some pieces came from his own collection, although the majority were bought by him, often at Christie's. It is said that he or his driver would arrive at the Under Treasurer's office unannounced, with the latest piece wrapped in one of his own newspapers.