Lot Essay
The arms are those of John Shales Barrington (d. 1788), son of Charles Shales and his wife Anne, who was the sister of Sir Charles Barrington, 5th baronet of Barrington Hall. Charles Shales (d. 1734) was goldsmith to Queen Anne and Kings George I and II.
In Sir Charles Barrington's will, his estates and title were devised separately, so John Shales Barrington inherited his uncle's estates but not his title. John Shales Barrington conceived a lavish scheme to rebuild Barrington Hall on a grand scale, mortgaging his estates to pay for the project. However, after a rumored matrimonial disappointment, he abandoned the project unfinished and retired to Waltham Cross, where he lived out his life in relative obscurity.
Joseph Sympson engraved a number of silver pieces by Thomas Farren. Charles Oman, in English Engraved Silver, illustrates a detail of a salver by Farren (in the Victoria and Albert Museum) engraved, like the present lot, with the arms of John Shales Barrington, which he attributes to Joseph Sympson (op cit., p. 90, fig. 103).
In Sir Charles Barrington's will, his estates and title were devised separately, so John Shales Barrington inherited his uncle's estates but not his title. John Shales Barrington conceived a lavish scheme to rebuild Barrington Hall on a grand scale, mortgaging his estates to pay for the project. However, after a rumored matrimonial disappointment, he abandoned the project unfinished and retired to Waltham Cross, where he lived out his life in relative obscurity.
Joseph Sympson engraved a number of silver pieces by Thomas Farren. Charles Oman, in English Engraved Silver, illustrates a detail of a salver by Farren (in the Victoria and Albert Museum) engraved, like the present lot, with the arms of John Shales Barrington, which he attributes to Joseph Sympson (op cit., p. 90, fig. 103).