MARK OF ROBERT HARPER FOR ELKINGTON & CO., LONDON, 1861

Details

A VICTORIAN FOUR-PIECE SILVER TEA AND COFFEE SERVICE**
MARK OF ROBERT HARPER FOR ELKINGTON & CO., LONDON, 1861
Comprising a coffee pot, teapot, sugar bowl and cream jug; each baluster form on four scroll feet headed by mask and shell joins, the coffee pot repoussé and chased with coffee beans and an encampment in an Arabian oasis, the teapot with Chinamen collecting tea leaves, the sugar bowl with harvesters amid sugar canes, the cream jug with a maiden milking a cow, the hinged domed covers with figural finials, with leaf-capped scroll handles, each piece engraved with two crests and a monogram, the teapot and coffee pot with ivory insulators, marked under bases and covers and on coffee pot and teapot handles
The coffee pot 11 in. (28 cm.) high; 81 oz. (2,519 gr.) gross weight (4)

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

Lot Essay

Robert Harper established his silversmithing shop in 1853, after leaving the firm of Joseph Angell III. He seems to have specialized in these types of services. A similar one, dated 1859, sold Christie's, New York, 20 October 1998, lot 299; and another, also comprising a kettle on stand with a scene repoussé and chased depicting an Oriental fruit seller, dated 1867, sold Christie's, New York, 14 April 1994, lot 301.

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