Lot Essay
The arms are those of Wright quarterly with those of Onebye and impaling those of Ashby, as borne by Sir Nathan Wright (1654-1721), Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. He served as Recorder of Leicester 1680-1684 and again in 1688 and was appointed Serjeant at Law in 1692. He was knighted and made King's Serjeant in 1697. He received the Great Seal from the king at Hampton Court on May 21, 1700 and was made a privy councillor. On the death of William III he surrendered the Great Seal to Queen Anne and she instantly returned it to him, bestowing on him the title of Lord Keeper, saying "that she would not have done so, if there had been a worthier man in the kingdom to whom she could have delivered it" (Campbell, Lives of the Chancellors, vol. V, p. 208).
Sir Nathan was succeeded by Lord Cowper as Keeper in 1705. Normally, the Great Seal would have been transferred to his successor but it appears that Sir Nathan was able to retain it and had the present cup made from it, adding the busts of the two monarchs he served in that office, William III and Queen Anne. The law required that the matrices of the monarch's seals should be defaced on the death of the sovereign but it is evident that they were often kept by the holder after defacement as a 'perk' of office. In commemoration of holding a great office of state, the silver would often be used to make a cup, such as the present example, or a salver. Sir Nathan's successor, Lord Cowper, had two cups made from his seal a few years later. These were sold by the Trustees of the late Viscountess Gage by Christie's, London, November 26, 1980, lot 115.
In 1676, Sir Nathan had married Elizabeth, second daughter of George Ashby of Quenby, Leicestershire. Their son, George, purchased the manor of Gayhurst in Buckinghamshire. The estate passed by direct descent to his great-granddaughter, who died without issue in 1830 and, by the terms of her father's will, the manor passed to a distant relative, George Thomas Wyndham of Cromer. The estate eventually passed in 1854 to his daughters, Maria Anne who married Godfrey, Lord MacDonald of Sleat, and Cecilia who married Lord Alfred Paget. The latter's great-granddaughter, Mrs. R.L. Cameron, sold the cup at Christie's in 1975.
The inscription "Reported Sterling" was presumably due to the use of the old seal, which would have been made of the old sterling standard silver, during the enforced higher, Britannia, standard period.
This mark can be attributed to the Rollos workshop, as can another mark formed of the Roman initials PR which appears on a pair of silver-gilt salvers made for the Duke of Devonshire about 1690, sold from the Patino Collection, Christie's, London, October 28, 1986.
Sir Nathan was succeeded by Lord Cowper as Keeper in 1705. Normally, the Great Seal would have been transferred to his successor but it appears that Sir Nathan was able to retain it and had the present cup made from it, adding the busts of the two monarchs he served in that office, William III and Queen Anne. The law required that the matrices of the monarch's seals should be defaced on the death of the sovereign but it is evident that they were often kept by the holder after defacement as a 'perk' of office. In commemoration of holding a great office of state, the silver would often be used to make a cup, such as the present example, or a salver. Sir Nathan's successor, Lord Cowper, had two cups made from his seal a few years later. These were sold by the Trustees of the late Viscountess Gage by Christie's, London, November 26, 1980, lot 115.
In 1676, Sir Nathan had married Elizabeth, second daughter of George Ashby of Quenby, Leicestershire. Their son, George, purchased the manor of Gayhurst in Buckinghamshire. The estate passed by direct descent to his great-granddaughter, who died without issue in 1830 and, by the terms of her father's will, the manor passed to a distant relative, George Thomas Wyndham of Cromer. The estate eventually passed in 1854 to his daughters, Maria Anne who married Godfrey, Lord MacDonald of Sleat, and Cecilia who married Lord Alfred Paget. The latter's great-granddaughter, Mrs. R.L. Cameron, sold the cup at Christie's in 1975.
The inscription "Reported Sterling" was presumably due to the use of the old seal, which would have been made of the old sterling standard silver, during the enforced higher, Britannia, standard period.
This mark can be attributed to the Rollos workshop, as can another mark formed of the Roman initials PR which appears on a pair of silver-gilt salvers made for the Duke of Devonshire about 1690, sold from the Patino Collection, Christie's, London, October 28, 1986.