LONDON, 1725, THE CUP AND COVER WITH MARK OF JACOB MARGAS, THE STAND WITH MARK OF EDMUND PEARCE

Details

A George I silver-gilt cup, cover and stand
London, 1725, the cup and cover with mark of Jacob Margas, the stand with mark of Edmund Pearce
The cup, vase-shaped on spreading circular foot with basketweave border, the body with moulded borders and mid-rib and applied with strapwork, grotesque mask and foliate scroll bands, with two harp-shaped handles, the waisted domed cover with gadrooned, husk, guilloche and rosette borders and with baluster finial, the stand, circular and on detachable spreading foot, with gadrooned borders, each engraved with the Royal arms of King George I, marked on side and cover of cup and reverse and foot-rim of tazza
The cup and cover, 13½in. (34.2cm.) high; the stand, 13 1/8in. (33.4cm.) diam.
165oz. (5,144gr.) (3)

Provenance

Presumably presented by King George II (1725-1760) to his godson, George Seymour, Viscount Beauchamp (1725-1745) on the occasion of his christening, and then by descent to
His Grace the Duke of Northumberland; Sotheby's London, 3 May 1984, lot 54.

Literature

The Glory of the Goldsmith, Magnificent Gold and Silver from the Al-Tajir Collection, London, 1989, no.65, p.94
V. Brett, The Sotheby's Dictionary of Silver, London, 1986, no.690

Exhibited

London, Christie's, The Glory of the Goldsmith, Magnificent Gold and Silver from the Al-Tajir Collection, 1989, no.65

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

George Seymour, Viscount Beauchamp (1725-1745) was the only son and heir of Algernon, 7th Duke of Somerset and 1st Earl of Northumberland. It seems probable that these pieces were given to him by his godfather, King George I, at his christening. His other godparents were Caroline, Princess of Wales (later Queen Consort) and the Earl of Thomond. George Seymour died unmarried on his 19th birthday at Bologna, Italy, of smallpox, and was buried 6th July 1745.

This form is a rare survivor of the porringer and stand popular after the Restoration, appears to have been a necessary part of the gilt plate issued to Ambassadors in the early years of the 18th century. Other examples are a cup and cover by Philip Rollos, 1712, sold Sotheby's, 27 June 1963, lot 53, and a pair of cups and stands also by Philip Rollos, 1714, illustrated in J. Hayward, Huguenot Silver, 1959, fig.9.

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