Lot Essay
This sauce tureen belongs to an extensive dinner-service decorated with vegetables made in 1823 for the Duke of York by Edward Farrell under the direction of Kensington Lewis, silver retailer and chief promoter of the most innovative styles of the period. Christie's 1827 auction catalogue of the Duke of York's silver describes the service in 35 lots under the heading "SERVICE OF SUMPTUOUS PLATE . . . of rich and massive manufacture (made by Lewis,) the surface covered with vegetables in high relief, very boldly executed, and producing a very rich effect." Two soup tureens from this service were sold in these Rooms, October 16, 1985, lots 199 and 200 and a set of three entree dishes, October 27, 1992, lot 231.
The Duke of York, as Commander-in-Chief of the forces of Great Britian and Ireland, was accused of corruption in 1809, chiefly on account of the practices of his mistress Mary Anne Clark in obtaining promotions for Army officers. He was acquitted by a vote of the House of Commons, but compelled to resign his post for two years. "It is foible of history that the Duke is now chiefly remembered in the public mind as the man who marched his army up and down a hill and ran it, as a commercial proposition, with the aid of his mistress" (Complete Peerage).
As a gourmand and connoisseur of wine, the Duke was well known. He employed Louis XVI's former chef, Louis Eustach Ude, who stayed with him until the Duke's death.
Following the example of his brother, the Prince Regent, the Duke amassed a considerable collection of silver, much of it supplied by Kensington Lewis, who generally employed Edward Farrell as maker. The greatest commission undertaken by Farrell for Lewis and the Duke was the celebrated candelabrum weighing some 1144 ounces formed as Hercules Slaying the Hydra, subsequently sold by Christie's, London, October 18, 1967, lot 59 (illustrated in A. Phillips et al., Antiquity Revisited: English and French Silver-Gilt in the Collection of Audrey Love, 1997, cover and fig.12, pp. 62-67).
On the Duke's death of dropsy in 1827, it was discovered that he had debts totalling between 200,000 gbp and 500,000 gbp. It is indicative of the confused state of his financial affairs that his executors were unable to provide a more specific figure. On account of this, they took the unprecedented step of placing his collections up for public auction, entrusting the young James Christie II with the sale, which took place March 19-22, 1827.
The sale, which totalled 22,438 gbp was not a success; Lewis was forced to buy back much of what he had sold the Duke at vastly inflated prices only a few years before. Many of the items, such as the Hercules candelabrum, failed to reach half of their original cost, prompting Christie to observe that "the sacrifice was indeed great."
The Duke of York, as Commander-in-Chief of the forces of Great Britian and Ireland, was accused of corruption in 1809, chiefly on account of the practices of his mistress Mary Anne Clark in obtaining promotions for Army officers. He was acquitted by a vote of the House of Commons, but compelled to resign his post for two years. "It is foible of history that the Duke is now chiefly remembered in the public mind as the man who marched his army up and down a hill and ran it, as a commercial proposition, with the aid of his mistress" (Complete Peerage).
As a gourmand and connoisseur of wine, the Duke was well known. He employed Louis XVI's former chef, Louis Eustach Ude, who stayed with him until the Duke's death.
Following the example of his brother, the Prince Regent, the Duke amassed a considerable collection of silver, much of it supplied by Kensington Lewis, who generally employed Edward Farrell as maker. The greatest commission undertaken by Farrell for Lewis and the Duke was the celebrated candelabrum weighing some 1144 ounces formed as Hercules Slaying the Hydra, subsequently sold by Christie's, London, October 18, 1967, lot 59 (illustrated in A. Phillips et al., Antiquity Revisited: English and French Silver-Gilt in the Collection of Audrey Love, 1997, cover and fig.12, pp. 62-67).
On the Duke's death of dropsy in 1827, it was discovered that he had debts totalling between 200,000 gbp and 500,000 gbp. It is indicative of the confused state of his financial affairs that his executors were unable to provide a more specific figure. On account of this, they took the unprecedented step of placing his collections up for public auction, entrusting the young James Christie II with the sale, which took place March 19-22, 1827.
The sale, which totalled 22,438 gbp was not a success; Lewis was forced to buy back much of what he had sold the Duke at vastly inflated prices only a few years before. Many of the items, such as the Hercules candelabrum, failed to reach half of their original cost, prompting Christie to observe that "the sacrifice was indeed great."