LONDON, 1671, MAKER'S MARK WW WITH FLEUR-DE-LYS BEWTEEN TWO PELLETS BELOW, ATTRIBUTED TO WILLIAM WAKEFIELD,

Details

A CHARLES II SILVER-GILT TAZZA
LONDON, 1671, MAKER'S MARK WW WITH FLEUR-DE-LYS BEWTEEN TWO PELLETS BELOW, ATTRIBUTED TO WILLIAM WAKEFIELD,
Circular, with moulded rim on flaring circular moulded foot, the reverse with cut-card calyx, the centre engraved with a lozenge of arms with duchess' coronet above, marked on field and underneath
11 3⁄8 in. (28.8 cm.) diameter
33 oz. 19 dwt. (1,056 gr.)
The arms are those of Lennox quartering Lennox impaling Stewart, for Frances Stewart, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox (1647-1702) 'La Belle Stuart', daughter of Walter Stewart (d.1657).

Provenance

Frances Stewart, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox (1647-1702) 'La Belle Stuart', then by descent to her cousin,
Walter Stuart, later 6th Lord Blantyre, eldest son of Alexander Stuart, 5th Lord Blantyre (d.1704) , then by descent to,
Charles Stuart, 12th Lord Blantyre (1818-1900), of Lennoxlove House, Haddington, then to his daughter,
Ellen, Lady Baird (1846-1927) and her husband Sir David Baird, 4th Bt. (1865-1941), of Lennoxlove House, Haddington, then to their second son,
William Arthur Baird (1879-1933), of Lennoxlove House, Haddington, then to his second son,
Robert Walter Stuart Baird (1914-1989),
R. W. Baird Esq.; Sotheby's, London, 25 February 1954, lot 3.
A Gentleman; Sotheby's, London, 18 January 1962 lot 144.
with S. J. Phillips Ltd., London.
Acquired from the above by the Blaquier-Arrieta Family.

Literature

F. Davis, 'English Silver and French Sentiment', Country Life, vol. 131, no. 3388, 8 February 1962, p. 280, fig. 1.

Exhibited

Edinburgh, The Royal Scottish Museum, 1927-1953.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Charlotte Young Associate Director, Specialist

cyoung@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2730

Lot Essay

'LA BELLE STUART'
Frances Stewart, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox, was the elder daughter of Walter Stewart (d.1657) a Scottish courtier, physician, and politician. The arms here are for her as the widow and third wife of Charles Stewart, 3rd Duke of Richmond, 6th Duke of Lennox (1639-1672), a fourth cousin of King Charles II. Despite being a great beauty and a prominent member of the Royal Court, as a lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Braganza, she rebuffed the advances of the King. Pepys wrote of her beauty and recorded that her face was used by the artist John Roettiers as the model for Britannia, later adapted for the reverse of the copper coins issued from 1672.

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