.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Sir Walter Farquhar 2nd Bt and his brother, Sir Thomas Harvey Farquhar, were the sons of prominent physician Sir Thomas Farquhar 1st Bt. (1738-1819), Physician to the Price of Walter, later King George. They were both partners in the successful bank Herries, Farquhar & Co., which pioneered an early form of traveller's cheque. The London office at 16 St. James's Street was on the corner of King Street. Fellow Scot James Christie's banked at the branch. The firm was acquired by Lloyds Bank in 1893.
The design of the ewer is in the 'antique' style of the early 19th century as promoted by Thomas Hope (1769-1831) at his mansion/museum in Duchess Street, London. A similar, but plain, ewer is illustrated in David Watkin's 1971 edition of Thomas Hope's, Household Furniture and Interior Decoration, London, 1807, pl. XLVII. A pair of ewers, also by Paul Storr, 1816, without stands, was sold from the collection of Sir Harold Clayton, Christie's, London, 3 June 1935, lot 163.
The trefoil-shaped lip is a typical feature of the Greek, and later Roman, oinochoe. Storr similarly used a Roman model for a pair of ewers illustrated in M. Penzer, Paul Storr, The Last of the Goldsmiths, London, 1954, p. 142, pl. XXXIII. The design is thought to be after Flaxman, the originals being a Roman urceus or lagona. Storr also used the Roman ascos jug form as an inspiration for silver in the first quarter of the 19th century (The Benjamin Edwards Collection; Christie's, New York, 26 January 2010, lot 64).
The design of the ewer is in the 'antique' style of the early 19th century as promoted by Thomas Hope (1769-1831) at his mansion/museum in Duchess Street, London. A similar, but plain, ewer is illustrated in David Watkin's 1971 edition of Thomas Hope's, Household Furniture and Interior Decoration, London, 1807, pl. XLVII. A pair of ewers, also by Paul Storr, 1816, without stands, was sold from the collection of Sir Harold Clayton, Christie's, London, 3 June 1935, lot 163.
The trefoil-shaped lip is a typical feature of the Greek, and later Roman, oinochoe. Storr similarly used a Roman model for a pair of ewers illustrated in M. Penzer, Paul Storr, The Last of the Goldsmiths, London, 1954, p. 142, pl. XXXIII. The design is thought to be after Flaxman, the originals being a Roman urceus or lagona. Storr also used the Roman ascos jug form as an inspiration for silver in the first quarter of the 19th century (The Benjamin Edwards Collection; Christie's, New York, 26 January 2010, lot 64).