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Lot Essay
The armorials are those of Queen Anne.
This pair of salvers formed part of the magnificent ambassadorial plate granted by the Crown to Baron Raby on his appointment as Ambassador Extraordinary to the Court of Prussia in 1705.
The Royal Jewel House Account of September 25, 1705 records the issue of these salvers:
INDENTURE PLATE
Delivered unto his Excellency the Lord Raby, Ambassador to the King of Prussia by the hands of Mr. Ellison the following particulars of gilt and white plate [ . . . ]
It. two knurled salvers wt. 78ozs. 15dwts. gilt at 11s. 8d. £43 06 03.
(Jewel House Account Book, 1702-1728, p. 70; PRO LC9/47)
The same account also lists two sets of ewers and basins, one gilt and one white, also by Phillip Rollos, granted to Lord Raby at the same time. The silver-gilt set sold at auction in 1963 with the present salvers, and is now in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum. The other set, of white silver, was sold at Christie's, London, 23 May 1990, lot 231.
All of the above ambassadorial plate, together with Lord Raby's sideboard dish of 1713, a covered cup of 1712, a pair of wine coolers circa 1710, and a ewer of 1702, spent over 100 years in unopened boxes at the bank Glyn, Mills & Co. of London. The Raby plate was first deposited in 1831, where it was only retrieved for use during three or four London seasons, and after the owner's death in 1859, was apparently never touched. It was not until 1963 that the Bank was able to trace the ownership of the silver and return it to the family, who sold five pieces at that time, including the present lot, and then sold the two remaining lots in 1990. Because it has had so little use, the group as a whole is in extraordinarily fine condition.
Photo caption: Thomas Wentworth, Baron Raby and 3rd Earl of Strafford (1672-1739)
This pair of salvers formed part of the magnificent ambassadorial plate granted by the Crown to Baron Raby on his appointment as Ambassador Extraordinary to the Court of Prussia in 1705.
The Royal Jewel House Account of September 25, 1705 records the issue of these salvers:
INDENTURE PLATE
Delivered unto his Excellency the Lord Raby, Ambassador to the King of Prussia by the hands of Mr. Ellison the following particulars of gilt and white plate [ . . . ]
It. two knurled salvers wt. 78ozs. 15dwts. gilt at 11s. 8d. £43 06 03.
(Jewel House Account Book, 1702-1728, p. 70; PRO LC9/47)
The same account also lists two sets of ewers and basins, one gilt and one white, also by Phillip Rollos, granted to Lord Raby at the same time. The silver-gilt set sold at auction in 1963 with the present salvers, and is now in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum. The other set, of white silver, was sold at Christie's, London, 23 May 1990, lot 231.
All of the above ambassadorial plate, together with Lord Raby's sideboard dish of 1713, a covered cup of 1712, a pair of wine coolers circa 1710, and a ewer of 1702, spent over 100 years in unopened boxes at the bank Glyn, Mills & Co. of London. The Raby plate was first deposited in 1831, where it was only retrieved for use during three or four London seasons, and after the owner's death in 1859, was apparently never touched. It was not until 1963 that the Bank was able to trace the ownership of the silver and return it to the family, who sold five pieces at that time, including the present lot, and then sold the two remaining lots in 1990. Because it has had so little use, the group as a whole is in extraordinarily fine condition.
Photo caption: Thomas Wentworth, Baron Raby and 3rd Earl of Strafford (1672-1739)