A FINE SET OF FOUR GEORGE III SILVER-GILT WINE COASTERS
THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN 
A FINE SET OF FOUR GEORGE III SILVER-GILT WINE COASTERS

MARK OF DIGBY SCOTT AND BENJAMIN SMITH, LONDON, 1804

Details
A FINE SET OF FOUR GEORGE III SILVER-GILT WINE COASTERS
Mark of Digby Scott and Benjamin Smith, London, 1804
Each circular, with openwork grapevine sides and reeded rims, the field engraved with monogram S within Garter Motto beneath a Royal Duke's coronet, the base stamped with Latin signature of Rundell, Bridge and Rundell, each marked on base and field
5½in. (14cm.) diameter (4)
Provenance
H.R.H. The Duke of Sussex, sold from The Truly Magnificent Collection of Ancient and Modern Silver, Silver Gilt and Gold Plate of His Late Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex, Christie's, London, June 22, 1843, lot 147 or 148
7th Earl of Lucan, sold Christie's, London, March 31, 1976, lot 25
Literature
J.B. Hawkins, The Al Tajir Collection of Silver and Gold, London, 1983, vol. I, pp. 94-95
The Glory of the Goldsmith: Magnificent Gold and Silver from the Al-Tajir Collection, 1989, no. 116, p. 154
Exhibited
"The Glory of the Goldsmith: Magnificent Gold and Silver from the Al-Tajir Collection," Christie's, London, 1989, no. 116

Lot Essay

Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (1773-1843), was the 6th son of George III. His advocacy of liberal measures brought him into conflict with his father and later, his brother, George IV. As a result, he was the only Royal Duke excluded from any form of lucrative employment, and was strictly limited to his parliamentary allowance. According to the National Portrait Gallery of Illustrious and Eminent Personages, the Duke was forced "to endure the most mortifying neglect, almost amounting to studied insult, from his eldest brother, both as Regent and King."

In spite of such financial woes, the Duke formed an important silver collection, like many of Royal brothers. The Sussex Collection was dispersed by Christie's in a series of sales held from June 22-27, 1843. The auctions comprised 695 lots and nearly forty thousand ounces of plate, including the present lot, part of a set of eight.


PHOTO CAPTION
H.R.H. Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (1773-1843), National Portrait Gallery of Illustrious and Eminent Personages

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