Lot Essay
The arms are those of Hassell impa;ing those of Williams, for Dorothy Williams, the widow of Sir Edward Hassell of Dalemaine in the parish of Dacres, Cumberland, whom he had married, as his second wife, in 1692. Edward Hassell had purchased Dalemaine in 1665 and served as High Sheriff of Cumberland in 1682. He was knighted in 1699, the same year these armorial bearings were granted to him. He died in 1707 at the age of 60, when his widow commissioned a monument to be erected in his honor at Dalemaine.
Dorothy Williams was the daughter of William Williams, who is stated to have been "a Welshman born in Glamorganshire who acquired a good fortune by being Steward to the Howards of Greystock and other eminent families in the county" [i.e. Cumberland]. No official armorial bearings for William Williams have come to light in the College of Arms, however, and it seems likely that he chose to assume one of the principal coats associated with Glamorganshire, that of the 11th century Welsh Chieftain Einon ap Collwyn ("sable a chevron between three fleurs-de-lys argent"). IT is interesting to note that numerous families from Glamogranshire, including some who came to bear the surname Williams, claimed descent from Einon ap Collwyn.
This salver forms part of a significant group of plate struck with the mark of Pal De Lamerie and commissioned by members of the Hassell family in the 1730's. Among this are a set of eight small dishes engraved with the Hassell arms impaling those of Musgrave, as borne by Edward Hassell, only surviving son of Edward and Dorothy Hassell who married Julia, second daughter of Sir Christopher Musgrave, Bt. The group also includes larger dishes. A pair of the smaller dishes are illustrated in Hare, ed., Paul De Lamerie, at the Sign of the Golden Ball, exhibition cat., Goldsmiths' Hall, London, 1990, no. 77. A coffee-pot of 1738 wiht the same maker's mark, also engraved with the Hassell arms impaling those of Williams, was sold Sotheby's, London, November 30, 1978, lot 185.
Dorothy Williams was the daughter of William Williams, who is stated to have been "a Welshman born in Glamorganshire who acquired a good fortune by being Steward to the Howards of Greystock and other eminent families in the county" [i.e. Cumberland]. No official armorial bearings for William Williams have come to light in the College of Arms, however, and it seems likely that he chose to assume one of the principal coats associated with Glamorganshire, that of the 11th century Welsh Chieftain Einon ap Collwyn ("sable a chevron between three fleurs-de-lys argent"). IT is interesting to note that numerous families from Glamogranshire, including some who came to bear the surname Williams, claimed descent from Einon ap Collwyn.
This salver forms part of a significant group of plate struck with the mark of Pal De Lamerie and commissioned by members of the Hassell family in the 1730's. Among this are a set of eight small dishes engraved with the Hassell arms impaling those of Musgrave, as borne by Edward Hassell, only surviving son of Edward and Dorothy Hassell who married Julia, second daughter of Sir Christopher Musgrave, Bt. The group also includes larger dishes. A pair of the smaller dishes are illustrated in Hare, ed., Paul De Lamerie, at the Sign of the Golden Ball, exhibition cat., Goldsmiths' Hall, London, 1990, no. 77. A coffee-pot of 1738 wiht the same maker's mark, also engraved with the Hassell arms impaling those of Williams, was sold Sotheby's, London, November 30, 1978, lot 185.