28th Nov, 2024 9:30
Fine Jewellery, Watches & Silver
A George IV silver wine cooler by William Brown, London 1828, with a pair of arched loop handles and removable mask and cage insert to the gently tapering body decorated with three raised reeded girdles, bearing an engraved Garter and crest with a ducal coronet, 64.7 ozt, 21.4 cm overall height x 19.5 cm wide, handle to handle.
The Crest of The Rt Hon William Lowther KG, the 1st Earl of Lonsdale
A dragon passant argent
The crest is environed with the Garter with its motto: ‘Honi soit qui mal y pense’ [Shame on him who thinks evil of it]. The whole is ensigned with an Earl’s coronet.
Note:
Sir William Lowther (born 29th December 1757 died 19th March 1844), the 1st Earl of Lonsdale and 2nd Baronet of Little Preston and Swillington in the County of Yorkshire, served as Member of Parliament for Appleby in 1780, for Carlisle from 1780 to 1784 and for Cumberland from 1784 to 1790. In 1796, he returned as Member of Parliament for Rutland, holding the seat until 1802 when he resigned his seat in the House of Commons on succeeding his cousin as Viscount Lowther as a peer in the House of Lords.
William served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the army as well as being the Lord Lieutenant of Cumberland and Westmorland and Recorder of Carlisle. Having been appointed a Knight of the Garter and created Earl of Lowther in 1807, he set about an extensive redesign of the family estate, rebuilding Lowther Caste with the architect Robert Smirke between 1806 and 1814. An industrialist and coal magnate, Lowther was a man of vast means, allowing him to indulge his interests in the arts and he served as patron to many artists and writers, including William Wordsworth.
Item from the original collection occasionally appear at auction, such as a set of four silver-gilt salts from the Lonsdale Service, by (not marked) Digby Scott and Benjamin Smith (II), 1803 and retailed by Rundell, Bridge and Rundell (Sotheby’s New York, 16th April, 2013, lot 407).
A pair of coolers from this suite and by the same hand, but of slightly earlier date were sold at Lyon & Turnbull, Lot 64,07 December 2021
It was not uncommon for the most prestigious silversmith to outsource work to other suitable makers while trying to fulfil vast commissions. Given its scale, it was also not unheard of for a large commission to be staggered over a few years.
This could explain the disparity in dates between this lot and the pair mentioned above, as they are undoubtedly of the same suite.
Sold for £10,000
Condition Report
Good order some slight rubbing to the fire gilding. structurally good, no unsightly dents or deep scratches, the mask and bottle cage are marked with matching hallmarks
A George IV silver wine cooler by William Brown, London 1828, with a pair of arched loop handles and removable mask and cage insert to the gently tapering body decorated with three raised reeded girdles, bearing an engraved Garter and crest with a ducal coronet, 64.7 ozt, 21.4 cm overall height x 19.5 cm wide, handle to handle.
The Crest of The Rt Hon William Lowther KG, the 1st Earl of Lonsdale
A dragon passant argent
The crest is environed with the Garter with its motto: ‘Honi soit qui mal y pense’ [Shame on him who thinks evil of it]. The whole is ensigned with an Earl’s coronet.
Note:
Sir William Lowther (born 29th December 1757 died 19th March 1844), the 1st Earl of Lonsdale and 2nd Baronet of Little Preston and Swillington in the County of Yorkshire, served as Member of Parliament for Appleby in 1780, for Carlisle from 1780 to 1784 and for Cumberland from 1784 to 1790. In 1796, he returned as Member of Parliament for Rutland, holding the seat until 1802 when he resigned his seat in the House of Commons on succeeding his cousin as Viscount Lowther as a peer in the House of Lords.
William served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the army as well as being the Lord Lieutenant of Cumberland and Westmorland and Recorder of Carlisle. Having been appointed a Knight of the Garter and created Earl of Lowther in 1807, he set about an extensive redesign of the family estate, rebuilding Lowther Caste with the architect Robert Smirke between 1806 and 1814. An industrialist and coal magnate, Lowther was a man of vast means, allowing him to indulge his interests in the arts and he served as patron to many artists and writers, including William Wordsworth.
Item from the original collection occasionally appear at auction, such as a set of four silver-gilt salts from the Lonsdale Service, by (not marked) Digby Scott and Benjamin Smith (II), 1803 and retailed by Rundell, Bridge and Rundell (Sotheby’s New York, 16th April, 2013, lot 407).
A pair of coolers from this suite and by the same hand, but of slightly earlier date were sold at Lyon & Turnbull, Lot 64,07 December 2021
It was not uncommon for the most prestigious silversmith to outsource work to other suitable makers while trying to fulfil vast commissions. Given its scale, it was also not unheard of for a large commission to be staggered over a few years.
This could explain the disparity in dates between this lot and the pair mentioned above, as they are undoubtedly of the same suite.
