A GEORGE III SILVER MEAT-DISH

MARK OF GEORGE METHUEN, LONDON, 1757

Details

A GEORGE III SILVER MEAT-DISH
MARK OF GEORGE METHUEN, LONDON, 1757
Oval with shaped capped corners, raised reeded border, engraved with coat-of-arms, marked underneath
15 in. (38 cm.) wide
34 oz. 19 dwt. (1,982 gr.)
The arms are those of Russell impaling Gower quartering Leveson for John, 4th Duke of Bedford K.G. (1710-1771) and his second wife Gertrude (d.1794), daughter of John, 1st Earl Gower. The Duke was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1756 and was Minister Plenipotentiary to The Court of France in 1762 when he signed the preliminary treaties which made peace with France and Spain at Fontainebleau

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Lot Essay

The Duke entered Parliament soon after becoming Duke of Bedford in 1732 following the death of his brother. A prominent Whig, he was made Lord of the Admiralty and sworn in as a privy councillor in 1744. He was also Lord Justice of Great Britain in 1745, 1748 and 1750. Having been made a Knight of The Garter in 1748 he left England to become Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1756. The Prime Minister Henry Pelham complained that he was 'all jollity, boyishness and vanity' and it was commented on at the time that he was more keen on cricket that politics however, as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland his warm character and lavish entertaining were appreciated. He also arranged relief for the poor who suffered from the failure of the potato crop and moreover was strongly in favour of relaxing the discriminatory laws against Catholics. After his return from Ireland he was later made Ambassador to France in 1762

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