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Lot Essay
This covered jug forms part of an important suite of silver made by John White in 1720, which includes a pair of tazze, a pair of octafoil salvers and another, ensuite, of slightly larger size.
The silver presumably was manufactured for James Bulteel of Fleet, Devonshire who married Mary Crocker, daughter and heiress of Courtenay Crocker of Lyneham on October 1st, 1718. The silver descended in the Bulteel family until it was sold at Christie's, London, on December 14, 1911, lots 55B, C, D, and H. The initials ICB found on the base of the jug were likely engraved for the son of James and Mary Bulteel, James Courtenay Bulteel (1720-1746), or for John Crocker Bulteel (d. 1843) who served as M.P. for Devonshire, and married Lady Elizabeth Gray, 2nd daughter of Charles, 2nd Earl Grey.
The present lot was part of an early and relatively large order for John White, who had registered his first mark just the year before, in December 1719. The three octafoil salvers that descended in the Bulteel family share the same coat-of-arms, motto and engraved initials as the present lot, and are now in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. They were acquired by the noted collector William Farrer and are illustrated in The Catalogue of the Collection of Old Plate of William Francis Farrer, 1924, p. 52, plate XXVII. The pair of tazze, whereabouts unknown, also presumably is engraved with the Bulteel arms and initials.
John White typically produced high quality, plain silver occasionally embellished with fine engraved work for landed gentry and aristocratic clientele. White's role as manufacturer/supplier is a complex one, as some pieces stamped with his mark are identical to examples marked by silversmiths such as Simon Pantin, Peter Archambo and Paul de Lamerie (see A. J. H. Sale and Vanessa Brett, "John White: Some Recent Research", Silver Society Journal, Autumn 1996).
SUPP IMAGE TEXT:
Detail of arms, lot 271
The silver presumably was manufactured for James Bulteel of Fleet, Devonshire who married Mary Crocker, daughter and heiress of Courtenay Crocker of Lyneham on October 1st, 1718. The silver descended in the Bulteel family until it was sold at Christie's, London, on December 14, 1911, lots 55B, C, D, and H. The initials ICB found on the base of the jug were likely engraved for the son of James and Mary Bulteel, James Courtenay Bulteel (1720-1746), or for John Crocker Bulteel (d. 1843) who served as M.P. for Devonshire, and married Lady Elizabeth Gray, 2nd daughter of Charles, 2nd Earl Grey.
The present lot was part of an early and relatively large order for John White, who had registered his first mark just the year before, in December 1719. The three octafoil salvers that descended in the Bulteel family share the same coat-of-arms, motto and engraved initials as the present lot, and are now in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. They were acquired by the noted collector William Farrer and are illustrated in The Catalogue of the Collection of Old Plate of William Francis Farrer, 1924, p. 52, plate XXVII. The pair of tazze, whereabouts unknown, also presumably is engraved with the Bulteel arms and initials.
John White typically produced high quality, plain silver occasionally embellished with fine engraved work for landed gentry and aristocratic clientele. White's role as manufacturer/supplier is a complex one, as some pieces stamped with his mark are identical to examples marked by silversmiths such as Simon Pantin, Peter Archambo and Paul de Lamerie (see A. J. H. Sale and Vanessa Brett, "John White: Some Recent Research", Silver Society Journal, Autumn 1996).
SUPP IMAGE TEXT:
Detail of arms, lot 271