Lot Essay
The arms are those of the Coachmaker's Company, one of the Livery Companies, or trade guilds which were granted Royal charters during the reign of Edward III. Certain grades of members are privileged to wear a special "livery" or distinctive clothing in the form of a fur-trimmed gown. Only a few other silver objects are known that bear the arms of the Coachmaker's Company. These include a standing cup and cover, 1650, maker's mark AM in monogram, inscribed The Guift of Mr. Samuel Aubery 1677; a gilt flagon, circa 1680, inscribed The Guift of Richard Cheslyn Junr. Clerk to this Company; a two-handled cup, 1688, maker's mark IL, a fleur-de-lys below, inscribed The Gift of Edward Hutton; and a monteith bowl by John Smith, 1702, inscribed Ex dono Abrahamus Keen. The practice of engraving a presentation inscription on a gift of silver is one that is shared by many of the Livery Companies in this period.