MARK OF JOHN BRIDGE, LONDON, 1826

Details

A GEORGE IV SILVER-GILT CLARET JUG AND COVER
MARK OF JOHN BRIDGE, LONDON, 1826
Baluster shaped, the lower body chased with flutes and acanthus, the neck applied with grapevine, with twisted vine handle, the detachable cover with a grape finial, one side engraved with monogram WSD under a duke's coronet, the other side with monogram SSR, marked on body, flange of cover and finial, the base also stamped Rundell Bridge et Rundell Aurifices Regis Londini, body and cover numbered 2
11 in. (28 cm.) high
53 oz. 18 dwt. (1,676 gr.)
The initials and coronet are for William George Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire (1790-1858), only son of William Cavendish, the 5th Duke (1748-1811) and his wife, the notorious court beauty and inveterate gambler, Lady Georgiana Spencer (1757-1806).

Provenance

William George Spencer Cavendish (1790-1858), 6th Duke of Devonshire.
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, New York, 12 October 1990, lot 278.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, New York, 20 April 2000, lot 183.

Special notice

This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Harry Williams-Bulkeley International Head of Silver Department

hwilliams-bulkeley@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2666

Lot Essay

WILLIAM CAVENDISH, 6TH DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE
Known as 'The Bachelor Duke', the 6th Duke was a leading figure of Regency and Victorian society, and a close friend to King George IV and Tsar Nicholas I. He was a renowned collector of classical and contemporary sculpture and had a superb book collection. He carried out extensive renovations at his estates of Chatsworth and Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire and Lismore Castle in Ireland. Under the Duke's patronage, his gardener and estate manager Joseph Paxton created a magnificent conservatory at Chatsworth which was the model for the Paxton's design of the Crystal Palace in 1851. A pair of virtually identical silver claret jugs by Bridge, dated 1827, remain at Chatsworth.

William, 6th Duke of Devonshire, by Richard Dighton (1795-1880). © National Portrait Gallery, London

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