MARK OF ROBERT GARRARD, LONDON, 1816

Details

A PAIR OF GEORGE III SILVER-GILT WINE-COOLERS
MARK OF ROBERT GARRARD, LONDON, 1816
Campana-shaped and on fluted foot, the lower body applied with acanthus, the neck applied with a grapevine band below an everted egg-and-dart and beaded rim, with reeded leaf-clad handles, terminating in Bacchanalian masks, the bodies applied on each side with the Royal Arms within the Garter motto and below a Royal duke's coronet, each marked near handles, with copper-gilt liners and collars
10 ½ in. (26.6 cm.) high
195 oz. 10 dwt. (6,080 gr.)
The arms are those of H.R.H. William Frederick, 2nd Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, and 1st Earl of Connaught (1776-1834). He was the only son of Prince William Henry, 1st Duke of Gloucester, who was the 3rd son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and brother of George III. As the great-grandson of George II, he was allowed the style of Royal Highness in 1816, upon his marriage to his first cousin Princess Mary, fourth daughter of George III and sister to George IV. The Duke served in the foot guards, and was promoted to Field Marshal in May of 1816. Throughout his life, he took a keen interest in charitable causes. He was President of the African Institution, and advocated the rights of Africans in Parliament. The Duke and his wife had no children, but are said to have lived a very happy and quiet life devoting themselves to various charitable and philanthropic causes.

Provenance

H.R.H. William Frederick, 2nd Duke of Gloucester (1776-1834) and by descent to his cousin
H.R.H. Prince George, Duke of Cambridge K.G., K.T., K.P. (1819-1904).
The Valuable Collection of Old English and Foreign Silver & Silver-Gilt Plate of His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge; Christie's, London, 6-7 June 1904, lot 262 or passim.
Possibly an Important American Collection; Christie's, London, October 17, 1962, lot 102.
with S. J. Shrubsole, New York, June 1965.
Eloise and Nelson Davis, Toronto.
The Late Eloise and Nelson Davis, Toronto; Christie's, New York, 11 April 2003, lot 232.

Literature

M. Clayton, The Pictorial History of English and American Silver, Oxford, 1985, p. 266 no. 1.

Brought to you by

Giles Forster

gforster@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2146

Lot Essay

This pair of wine-coolers is from a set of eight, each with Royal arms and copper-gilt liners and collars, made by Robert Garrard, 1816, the same year as the Duke's marriage. The wine-coolers were included in the 1904 sale of silver and silver-gilt from the collection of the Duke of Cambridge. A pair from the set, possibly the present pair, came to auction again from an American Private Collection, at Christie's, London, 17 October 1962, lot 102. Unlike some of his royal cousins, the Duke does not appear to have commissioned an extensive silver service, apart from this set of eight wine-coolers. A tray engraved with the accolé coat-of-arms of the Duke and his wife, by Paul Storr, 1815, sold at Christie's, London, 7 March 1990, lot 117.

The design for these wine-coolers is derived from the famous Medici Krater, as engraved by Piranesi in Vasi, Candelabri, Cippi, Sarcofagi in 1778. This engraving inspired a number of silver models by the leading Regency silver firms. A working pen drawing, made for the retailer Rundell's and attributed to either John Flaxman or William Theed, survives within an album labelled "Designs for Plate by John Flaxman, etc." in the Victoria and Albert Museum (see C. Oman, "A Problem of Artistic Responsibility," Apollo, March 1966, p. 174-183).

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