MARK OF PAUL DE LAMERIE, LONDON, 1745

ADMIRAL GEORGE EDGCUMBE
George Edgcumbe was the second son of Richard Edgcumbe, 1st Baron Edgcumbe of Mount-Edgcumbe (1680-1758), however, he eventually inherited the family estates and the barony on the death of his unmarried brother in 1761. Initially as a younger son Edgcumbe had to forge his own career. He entered the navy in 1733 becoming one of the first eight scholars of the Royal Naval Academy at Portsmouth in 1733. He served nearly four years in H.M.S. York before being appointed third lieutenant of the Superbe, bound for the Mediterranean, in 1739. Edgcumbe became a captain of the Kennington in 1744 and commanded her in the Mediterranean until 1745, when he was advanced to the Salisbury, about which time he would have purchased these condiment vases from de Lamerie.

He sat as Member of Parliament for Fowey in Cornwall from 1746 to 1761. In 1751, he went to the Mediterranean as senior officer in the Monmouth and later in the Deptford. He played a significant role in the battle off Cape Mola in 1756, and in the crowning battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759.

On the death of his brother, he succeeded to the title as third baron and was appointed lord lieutenant of Cornwall in 1761. He held various posts in the government and the navy, including commander-in-chief at Plymouth from 1766 to 1770. He attained the rank of Admiral of the Blue in 1778. In his political career he served as vice-treasurer of Ireland from 1771 to 1773 and again from 1784 until 1793. He was created 1st Earl of Mount Edgcumbe in 1789. He died in London in 1795, survived by his wife Emma, daughter and heiress of John Gilbert, Archbishop of York; she died in 1807. Edgcumbe was regarded as a very capable commander and received continuous employment throughout his career.

LAMERIE AND MOUNT EDGCUMBE
It is not surprising that the young naval officer should commission his silver from de Lamerie as the silversmith had supplied the family with a considerable quantity of plate. Most notable are a pair of soup tureens of 1722 with ladles of 1747 made for George's father, Richard, 1st Baron Edgcumbe (1680-1758), now in the Gilbert Collection and illustrated in T. Schroder, The Gilbert Collection of Silver and Gold, Los Angeles, 1988, pp. 169-174, cat. no. 41. He also supplied the Baron with a pair of sauceboats, from the same year as the present lot, sold Lyon and Turnbull, London, 23 November 2008, lot 198.

Although Lamerie produced many sets of casters, condiment vases by him are rare. A set of three similar vases of 1749, with ladles, was sold from the collection of J. Pierpont Morgan, Christie's, New York, October 26, 1982, lot 34. A pair of 1747 were sold Christie's, New York, 23 May 2007, lot 173, while a further pair of 1742 is also recorded.

George Edgcumbe, 1st Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, by Edward Fisher, 1761. © National Portrait Gallery, London.