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Lot Essay
The arms are those of Elford impaling a quarterly coat for Jonathan Elford (1648-1755) and his wife, Anne Nevill (d. 1728), the only daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Nevill of Holt, Leicestershire. Jonathan Elford was a Member of Parliament for Saltash and Fowey from 1710-22. He died without issue.
This set of three casters dating to 1713 is a rare and important example of Paul de Lamerie's early work. Lamerie entered his first mark with Goldsmiths' Hall on February 5, 1713, having completed his apprenticeship with Pierre Platel in 1711. Not surprisingly, Lamerie's casters bear a strong resemblance to casters produced by his former master, as evidenced by a set of three by Platel of 1715 offered in these Rooms, April 20, 2001, lot 340.
The present casters bear Lamerie's rarely seen first mark, in use from 1713-16, and relate closely stylistically to a set noted in P.A.S. Phillips, Paul de Lamerie: His Life and Work, pl. 1. (Susan Hare, in Paul de Lamerie: At the Sign of the Golden Ball, 1990, cat. no. 2, p. 31 notes that Phillips misread the date mark of 1713 for 1711).
The presence of Henry Aubin's mark on two of the casters may possibly relate to his role as a retailer during this early period of Lamerie's career.
This set of three casters dating to 1713 is a rare and important example of Paul de Lamerie's early work. Lamerie entered his first mark with Goldsmiths' Hall on February 5, 1713, having completed his apprenticeship with Pierre Platel in 1711. Not surprisingly, Lamerie's casters bear a strong resemblance to casters produced by his former master, as evidenced by a set of three by Platel of 1715 offered in these Rooms, April 20, 2001, lot 340.
The present casters bear Lamerie's rarely seen first mark, in use from 1713-16, and relate closely stylistically to a set noted in P.A.S. Phillips, Paul de Lamerie: His Life and Work, pl. 1. (Susan Hare, in Paul de Lamerie: At the Sign of the Golden Ball, 1990, cat. no. 2, p. 31 notes that Phillips misread the date mark of 1713 for 1711).
The presence of Henry Aubin's mark on two of the casters may possibly relate to his role as a retailer during this early period of Lamerie's career.