MARK OF DANIEL SMITH AND ROBERT SHARP, LONDON, 1786

細節

AN IMPORTANT PAIR OF GEORGE III SILVER-GILT VERRIERES
MARK OF DANIEL SMITH AND ROBERT SHARP, LONDON, 1786
Each shaped oval and on spreading gadrooned foot, the lower body fluted, applied at each end with a foliage capped reeded handle, with a Vitruvian scroll and foliage border, each marked on edge of foot, each further numbered and engraved underneath with a scratchweight 'No. 2 90"16' and No.4 91"17'
15 in. (38 cm.) wide
182 oz. (5,657 gr.) (2)

注意事項

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

拍品專文

The traces of engraved arms, as well as the existence of another example (see V. Brett, The Sotheby's Directory of Silver 1600-1940, London, 1986, p. 228, no. 1016), indicate that this was part of a service of at least four made for John Fitzgibbon, later 1st Earl of Clare (c.1749-1802).

Fitzgibbon was the son of John Fitzgibbon and his wife Isabella Grove, daughter of John Grove, of Ballyhimmock, County Cork, Ireland. He was first Attorney-General for Ireland in 1783 and later Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1789. He is best known for being a renowned champion of the Protestant Ascendancy and an opponent of Catholic emancipation, so much so that he persuaded George III to oppose it and ultimately led to the downfall of William Pitt, the British Prime Minister who had staked his reputation on achieving Catholic emancipation alongside the Act of Union.