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拍品專文
As these sconces have not been identified in the Royal inventories before 1812 their exact origins remain somewhat unclear, however, their appearance in 'A list of His Majesty's Plate in the Jewel Office, 18th February 1812' (PRO LC 09/351) and the existence of a matching pair in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle establishes their connections to Royal plate (A. E. Jones, The Gold and Silver of Windsor Castle, Letchworth, 1911, p. 34, pl. XVII). The pair which remain in the Royal Collection, in common with the present set of four, were all with the Royal Goldsmith Rundell, Bridge and Rundell. The pair was restored for the Prince Regent and having added crowns and the cypher of William and Mary. The remaining four were intended to be melted to pay in part for the order of new plate for Queen Caroline. An annotation in red on the 1812 list of plate referred to above records that these and other sconces were 'Taken to Carlton House by Mr. Bridge, part being finely embossed & engrav'd for the Prince Regent to see. Some of them approved by his Royal Highness & weer ordered to be new Gilt.'
The appearance of the bust of Susanna on the present sconces suggests that they may have a German origin and suggests a comparison to a pair of sconces made by Friedrich Kettwyck of Hamburg which are similarly applied. The Kettwyck sconces were originally made for Georg Wilhelm (1624-1705), Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg-Celle from 1665 and were presumably ordered to compliment the stucco decoration he ordered for his castle in Celle and which was executed by Giovanni Battista Tornielli in 1670-72 and 1674-76. As noted by Dr. Lorenz Seling the figure of Susanna also features heavily in the decorative scheme.
The first reference to the Kettwyck sconces is in an Inventory of Silver of the Royal and Electoral Court, Hanover, dated 1747 entitled 'Complete inventory of the court silver comprising all his Royal Majesty our most gracious lords utensils of Gold and Silver, at present in the Royal and Electoral Silver-Chamber at Hanover...' It was compiled, originally in German and later translated to English, from various inventories from earlier in the 18th century by the Grand Court Commissary Friderich August Bartels. Besides descriptions of the various and extensive services and other items of plate from the Hanoverian court it lists weights for each item, or series of items, in both pounds and lots. Given that these scones are not apparently recorded in that, or any other inventory, it is possible that the sconces had already been transferred to London by the time the inventory was complied.
If this supposition is indeed correct and the scones were made for Georg Wilhelm, they would have been included amongst a considerable amount of his silver that was transferred the year after his death in 1705 from Celle to Hanover for his nephew, Georg Ludwig (1660-1727), later King George I.
The appearance of the bust of Susanna on the present sconces suggests that they may have a German origin and suggests a comparison to a pair of sconces made by Friedrich Kettwyck of Hamburg which are similarly applied. The Kettwyck sconces were originally made for Georg Wilhelm (1624-1705), Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg-Celle from 1665 and were presumably ordered to compliment the stucco decoration he ordered for his castle in Celle and which was executed by Giovanni Battista Tornielli in 1670-72 and 1674-76. As noted by Dr. Lorenz Seling the figure of Susanna also features heavily in the decorative scheme.
The first reference to the Kettwyck sconces is in an Inventory of Silver of the Royal and Electoral Court, Hanover, dated 1747 entitled 'Complete inventory of the court silver comprising all his Royal Majesty our most gracious lords utensils of Gold and Silver, at present in the Royal and Electoral Silver-Chamber at Hanover...' It was compiled, originally in German and later translated to English, from various inventories from earlier in the 18th century by the Grand Court Commissary Friderich August Bartels. Besides descriptions of the various and extensive services and other items of plate from the Hanoverian court it lists weights for each item, or series of items, in both pounds and lots. Given that these scones are not apparently recorded in that, or any other inventory, it is possible that the sconces had already been transferred to London by the time the inventory was complied.
If this supposition is indeed correct and the scones were made for Georg Wilhelm, they would have been included amongst a considerable amount of his silver that was transferred the year after his death in 1705 from Celle to Hanover for his nephew, Georg Ludwig (1660-1727), later King George I.