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Lot Essay
The arms are those of Charles, 4th Duke of Richmond and Lennox (1764-1819).
The 4th Duke entered the Army in 1785 and rose to the position of General by 1814, served as M.P. for Chichester, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1807-13 and Governor General of Canada from 1818-19, dying there as a result of a bite from his rabid pet fox. He was buried in Quebec Cathedral. His colorful life and that of his wife, Charlotte, first daughter of Alexander, 4th Duke of Gordon, whom he married in 1789, was the subject of considerable comment. He engaged in two duels, one with the Duke of York, on Wimbledon Common in 1789, the other, a short time later, with Theophilus Swift, author of a disrespectful pamphlet about him. When posted to Ireland, the Duke spent lavishly, and took with him a large service of plate. O'Mahony in The Viceroys of Ireland wrote that "the almost regal state he maintained in Dublin soothed his vanity, and was, incidentally good for the trade of the city. The duchess loved power even more than her husband did." Following his post and unable to afford to live at the family seat at Goodwood, he moved to Brussels. It was there that his wife hosted the famous ball on June 15, 1815, the evening before Waterloo. Of his posting to Canada, while personally popular with his subjects, his extreme views made him a rather unsuitable choice as Governor-General (Complete Peerage).
These dinner plates comprise part of the service that the Duke took to Ireland in 1807. Other pieces of the service include the Richmond Plateau by Benjamin Smith which sold at Christie's, New York, April 11, 1995, lot 314, and a silver meat dish and plated cover by Digby Scott and Benjamin Smith of 1806 sold from the collection of President and Mrs. Ferdinand Marcos by the Republic of the Philippines at Christie's, New York, January 10, 1991, lot 44. A pair of soup tureens, covers and stands from the same service is in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, California.
The 4th Duke entered the Army in 1785 and rose to the position of General by 1814, served as M.P. for Chichester, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1807-13 and Governor General of Canada from 1818-19, dying there as a result of a bite from his rabid pet fox. He was buried in Quebec Cathedral. His colorful life and that of his wife, Charlotte, first daughter of Alexander, 4th Duke of Gordon, whom he married in 1789, was the subject of considerable comment. He engaged in two duels, one with the Duke of York, on Wimbledon Common in 1789, the other, a short time later, with Theophilus Swift, author of a disrespectful pamphlet about him. When posted to Ireland, the Duke spent lavishly, and took with him a large service of plate. O'Mahony in The Viceroys of Ireland wrote that "the almost regal state he maintained in Dublin soothed his vanity, and was, incidentally good for the trade of the city. The duchess loved power even more than her husband did." Following his post and unable to afford to live at the family seat at Goodwood, he moved to Brussels. It was there that his wife hosted the famous ball on June 15, 1815, the evening before Waterloo. Of his posting to Canada, while personally popular with his subjects, his extreme views made him a rather unsuitable choice as Governor-General (Complete Peerage).
These dinner plates comprise part of the service that the Duke took to Ireland in 1807. Other pieces of the service include the Richmond Plateau by Benjamin Smith which sold at Christie's, New York, April 11, 1995, lot 314, and a silver meat dish and plated cover by Digby Scott and Benjamin Smith of 1806 sold from the collection of President and Mrs. Ferdinand Marcos by the Republic of the Philippines at Christie's, New York, January 10, 1991, lot 44. A pair of soup tureens, covers and stands from the same service is in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, California.