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THE WEDDING PRESENT OF THE GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE OF NEW ZEALAND A PAIR OF SILVER MODELS OF KIWI

DESIGNED AND MADE BY PROFESSOR JOHN SIMPSON, WITH ENGLISH IMPORT MARKS FOR LONDON, 1961

Details

THE WEDDING PRESENT OF THE GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE OF NEW ZEALAND
A PAIR OF SILVER MODELS OF KIWI
DESIGNED AND MADE BY PROFESSOR JOHN SIMPSON, WITH ENGLISH IMPORT MARKS FOR LONDON, 1961
Each realistically modelled and cast and chased with feathers, one with a worm, the other an egg, supported on a green stone base, marked near neck
5 in. (12.7 cm.) high (2)

Provenance

Given on the occasion of the marriage of H.R.H. The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, to Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, Earl of Snowdon on 6 May 1960.
Presented by The Hon. Thomas L. Macdonald, High Commissioner for New Zealand, 415 Strand, London, on behalf of the Government and People of New Zealand, on 12 December 1961.

Used for display on the table in the Dining Room of the Private Apartment of H.R.H. The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon at Kensington Palace.

Literature

The Times, 'New Zealand's Royal Wedding Gift', 14 November 1961, p.8, column g
The Times, 'New Zealand's Wedding Gift...', 13 December 1961, p.4, column e, illustrated.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis. Proceeds from this lot will be donated to charity.

Lot Essay

The presentation of the wedding gift was delayed until November 1961 as the initial designs for the present were rejected. The subsequent design, by Professor John Simpson, of the University of Canterbury Art School, was judged to be a great success; the finished article being the product of over 1,000 hours of work by Professor Simpson. The kiwis travelled to England to be hallmarked and gilded. They returned to be put on display in the Parliament building in New Zealand before being sent to England once more for presentation.

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