A GEORGE II SILVER SNUFFER-STAND FROM THE WARRINGTON PLATE

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George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington (1675-1758), was an important patron of the leading Huguenot silversmiths of his day, and his vast and well-documented collection provides us with a fascinating portrait not only of the 2nd Earl but also of the use of silver in a great country house of the first half of the 18th century. On his succession in 1693, the 2nd Earl inherited his father's prodigious debts along with his title. A strategic marriage to Mary Oldbury (d.1740), the daughter of a rich London merchant, raised the family out of their financial misfortune but brought personal woes with it. The couple had a troubled marriage and only one legitimate child, Mary Booth (b.1704). The Earl named his daughter as his sole heiress. Aside from improving its park--it was said that he planted over 100,000 trees--the 2nd Earl devoted himself to building a sizable silver collection. The Warrington Plate is distinguished by its uniformly high quality, exceptionally heavy gauge, and its conservative taste. The Earl favoured the plain and heavy fashions of the early 18th century Huguenot silversmiths. His near obsession with expanding the collection at Dunham Massey is underscored by the existence of a lengthy inventory written in his own hand, titled ‘The Particular of my Plate & its Weight.’ The seventeen-page document, dated 1750 and amended by the Earl in 1754, records over 25,000 ounces of silver. The Earl's only child, Mary, married Harry (Grey), 4th Earl of Stamford (1715-1768) in 1736. After Warrington's death in 1758, Dunham Massey passed to them and subsequently descended in the Grey family. Although a group of the Warrington Plate was sold by their descendants at Christie's, London in two sales (20 April 1921 and 25 February 1931), the Warrington Plate is significant because it is ‘probably the largest group of plate to have survived in the house for which it was originally made’ (J. Lomax and J. Rothwell, Country House Silver at Dunham Massey, 2006).

A GEORGE II SILVER SNUFFER-STAND FROM THE WARRINGTON PLATE

MARK OF PETER ARCHAMBO, LONDON, 1738

Details

A GEORGE II SILVER SNUFFER-STAND FROM THE WARRINGTON PLATE
MARK OF PETER ARCHAMBO, LONDON, 1738
Hourglass shaped and on four bun feet, with an overhead scroll handle engraved within initials 'GW' below an earl's coronet, marked underneath, further engraved with a scratchweight '9=3'
7 ¼ in. (18.5 cm.) long
9 oz. 3 dwt. (284 gr.)
The initials are those of George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington (1675-1758), of Dunham Massey, Cheshire.

Provenance

George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington (1675-1758) and then by descent to his daughter
Lady Mary Booth (1704-1772), wife of Harry Grey, 4th Earl of Stamford (1715-1768) and then by descent to
George Harry Grey, 5th Earl of Stamford (1737-1819) and his wife Lady Henrietta Bentinck (1727-1837) and by descent to
Catherine, Lady Grey (d.1925) and Sir John Foley-Grey 8th Bt. (1893-1938),
Catherine, Lady Grey and Sir John Foley-Grey; Christie's London, 20 April, 1921, lot 86 (part), (to Wilson, £24.17.8).

Literature

Recorded in 'The Particular of my Plate and its Weight', 30 April 1750, revised 1754, as part of 'My Chamber Plate...Snuff Pan//9:3'
J. Lomax and J. Rothwell, Country House Silver from Dunham Massey, London, 2006, p. 170. The authors note that this snuff pan by Peter Archambo of 1738/39 is in a private collection, Australia (op. cit., p. 209).

Special notice

These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

Brought to you by

Matilda Burn

mburn@christies.com +44 (0)20 7752 3026

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