A set of four Portuguese nesting silver beakers

MAKER'S MARK OF ANTONIO JOSÉ DA COSTA, LISBON, CIRCA 1815

Details
A set of four Portuguese nesting silver beakers
Maker's mark of Antonio José da Costa, Lisbon, circa 1815
Plain tapering, each engraved with coat-of-arms and motto within crossed banners, the base engraved "Major Harvey, a. q. m g", marked on base
9.5 cm. (3.3/4 in.) - 9.8 cm. (3.7/8 in.) high
788 gr. (25 oz.) (4)

Lot Essay

The initials in the inscription stand for Major Harvey Assistant Quarter Master General.
The arms are those of Harvey with Harvey in pretence for Major Robert Harvey (1785-1860) of Mousehold House, Norwich and his wife Charlotte Mary (d.1869), daughter and heiress of Robert Harvey Esq. of Watton, Norfolk, in 1815. Major Harvey distinguished himself in the army of the Duke of Wellington during the Peninsula War and served as Aide-de-camp to the General during the campaign. He was knighted in 1817 and retired from the army as a General. He was also a Knight of the Tower and Sword and Knight Commander of St. Bento d'Aviz. He employed the Norfolk architect Stephen Mear (d.1827) to remodel Mousehold House. The original contract for the scheme survives in the Norfolk County Records Office and states that Mear was to make the house `fit for the residence of a Gentleman's family'. His eldest son, also Robert, was created a Baronet in 1868.

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