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Lot Essay
The engraving shows a ewer of this model in serpentine by John Organ of Penzance at the 1851 Great Exhibition. However, another example, in Derbyshire black marble like the present lot, is preserved in the Buxton Museum and thus strengthens an attribution to the Ashford Marble Works (see J. M. Tomlinson, Derbyshire Black Marble, Matlock Bath, 1996, p. 34, fig. 15). A smaller ewer and basin of this model, in Derbyshire black marble but also inlaid with hardstones, sold Christie's, London, 14 May 1998, lot 278.
This large ewer and basin is exemplary of the production of precious objects, often inlaid with geometric patterns or flowers, centred around the village of Ashford-in-the-Water, near Bakewell in Derbyshire. Under the patronage of the Dukes of Devonshire and Royalty, notably Prince Albert, the area became renowned for the production of precious objects honed from the fine-grained limestone quarried nearby and polished to a jet-black lustre. Of the numerous workshops recorded the most well-known were those of Thomas Woodruff and John Tomlinson both of which won considerable success at the 1851 Great Exhibition (see The Art Journal Illustrated Catalogue: The Industry of all Nations 1851, London, 1851, pp. 85 & 111). The sheer scale of this ewer and the use of expensive malachite inlay, which was imported from abroad, indicate that it was a costly 'Exhibition quality' commission.
This large ewer and basin is exemplary of the production of precious objects, often inlaid with geometric patterns or flowers, centred around the village of Ashford-in-the-Water, near Bakewell in Derbyshire. Under the patronage of the Dukes of Devonshire and Royalty, notably Prince Albert, the area became renowned for the production of precious objects honed from the fine-grained limestone quarried nearby and polished to a jet-black lustre. Of the numerous workshops recorded the most well-known were those of Thomas Woodruff and John Tomlinson both of which won considerable success at the 1851 Great Exhibition (see The Art Journal Illustrated Catalogue: The Industry of all Nations 1851, London, 1851, pp. 85 & 111). The sheer scale of this ewer and the use of expensive malachite inlay, which was imported from abroad, indicate that it was a costly 'Exhibition quality' commission.