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Lot Essay
The crest is that of Neeld, Grittleton House, Wiltshire.
This set of four candlesticks, originally from a set of eight, was made for Joseph Neeld, great-nephew and heir to the Royal Goldsmith, Philip Rundell. Upon Rundell's death in 1827, some L900,000 was left to Neeld, who in taking care of his cantankerous relation had "quitted, for his uncle's sake, a lucrative profession, in which his realizing a fortune was certain ... and devoted himself wholly and absolutely to the care of Mr. Rundell for the last thirteen years of his life" (see J. Culme, "A Devoted Attention to Business: An Obituary of Philip Rundell," Silver Society Journal, Winter 1991, pp. 91-102).
Following Rundell's death, Neeld promptly purchased and enlarged an estate at Grittleton and indulged in his passion for sculpture. He commissioned numerous pieces from Edward Hodges Baily, who had served as a silver designer for his uncle's firm. Neeld acquired a large quantity of plate, including a pair of soup tureens; one, now gilt, is in the Campbell Museum, Camden, New Jersey, the other sold in these rooms, October 27, 1992, lot 222. A set of matching sauce tureens are presently in a private collection. The original set of eight candlesticks was divided following the 1943 Neeld family estate sale; the other four, subsequently gilt, are now in the Al-Tajir Collection and illustrated in The Glory of the Goldsmith: Magnificent Gold and Silver from the Al-Tajir Collection, 1989 no. 160 and C. Truman, ed., Sotheby's Concise Encyclopedia of Silver, 1993, p. 113.
This set of four candlesticks, originally from a set of eight, was made for Joseph Neeld, great-nephew and heir to the Royal Goldsmith, Philip Rundell. Upon Rundell's death in 1827, some L900,000 was left to Neeld, who in taking care of his cantankerous relation had "quitted, for his uncle's sake, a lucrative profession, in which his realizing a fortune was certain ... and devoted himself wholly and absolutely to the care of Mr. Rundell for the last thirteen years of his life" (see J. Culme, "A Devoted Attention to Business: An Obituary of Philip Rundell," Silver Society Journal, Winter 1991, pp. 91-102).
Following Rundell's death, Neeld promptly purchased and enlarged an estate at Grittleton and indulged in his passion for sculpture. He commissioned numerous pieces from Edward Hodges Baily, who had served as a silver designer for his uncle's firm. Neeld acquired a large quantity of plate, including a pair of soup tureens; one, now gilt, is in the Campbell Museum, Camden, New Jersey, the other sold in these rooms, October 27, 1992, lot 222. A set of matching sauce tureens are presently in a private collection. The original set of eight candlesticks was divided following the 1943 Neeld family estate sale; the other four, subsequently gilt, are now in the Al-Tajir Collection and illustrated in The Glory of the Goldsmith: Magnificent Gold and Silver from the Al-Tajir Collection, 1989 no. 160 and C. Truman, ed., Sotheby's Concise Encyclopedia of Silver, 1993, p. 113.