Royal - From the Collection of H.R.H. Prince Frederick, Duke of York & Albany. An important George IV Silver Gilt Table Bowl made in London in 1824 by Edward Farrell.
Royal - From the Collection of H.R.H. Prince Frederick, Duke of York & Albany. An important George IV Silver Gilt Table Bowl made in London in 1824 by Edward Farrell.
375134
his outstanding piece of Georgian silver was one of thirty four such bowls in antiquarian taste made for the Prince Frederick, Duke of York & Albany (1763-1827), second son of King George III & The Queen Consort, Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and presumably supplied through Kensington Lewis.
These bowls appeared for sale first in the auction at Christie’s, London, from 19th – 22nd March, 1827 of the Magnificent Silver & Silver Gilt Plate of His Royal Highness, The Duke of York, Deceased. The bowl is silver gilt, baluster in form and stands on a spreading foot. Each of the bowls had differing script in quasi Seventeenth century lettering taken from the book of proverbs. In addition each Bowl had identical decoration of the arms of King James I and heraldic emblems within an arcaded framework. The design of these bowls was apparently based upon a curious series of early seventeenth century wooden cups with similar “pyrographic” decoration and, usually, with a date. More particularly two wooden bowls are known, bearing the same form of decoration – one with the date 1611 (now in the Museum of Life in Gloucester); and another with the date 1610, this having been in the collection of the 20th century dealer and collector, Owen Evan-Thomas.
The purpose of the silver gilt bowl was most probably for fruit, either as table decoration, or during the dessert course. The inscriptions on this particular bowl are as follows:
“He that loveth pastime should be a pooreman and he that loveth wine & oyle shall not be rich” and in a band of smaller script below: “ The wicked shall be a ransome for the just, and the transgressour for the righteous”.
Five other bowls from this set have been recorded in the last few decades, usually being sold through Christie’s or Sotheby’s, however examples seldom appear on the market. These bowls are discussed in “Antiquity Revisted- English & French silver gilt from the Collection of Audrey Love” by Phillips & Sloane, published by Christie’s in 1997. The Love collection included several highly important pieces of silver-gilt supplied by Kensington Lewis for the Duke of York and made by Edward Farrell. A set of twenty –four bowls in the same spirit were supplied to the King after 1827 and invoiced as “Verrieres with devices after the pattern of His late Royal Highness the Duke of York…. with antique gothic scroll ornaments”
The Bowl is in quite excellent condition and is fully marked up in the foot.
Height: 4.1 inches.
Diameter at the widest point: 6.2 inches.
Weight: 20oz
KENSINGTON LEWIS
The name Kensington Lewis is associated with some of the most innovative silver of the early 19th century. This is particularly true with the extraordinary group of silver which he supplied to Prince Fredrick Augustus, Duke of York the second son of King George III. His work anticipates the full-blown historicism of the mid 19th century.
The Duke of York and his elder brother, the Prince Regent, later King George IV, were together the most influential collectors and patrons of silver of their time. The Duke of York’s silver, however, was based largely on baroque sources, and stands apart from the classical styles promoted by the Royal Goldsmiths, Rundell, Bridge & Rundell and supplied to the King.
Credit for the distinctive style of the Duke of York’s silver must be given to Kensington Lewis, whose passion for 17th century silver was demonstrated by his purchases in the Duke of Norfolk’s auction in 1816. Such objects in Lewis’s possession undoubtedly influenced his designs for new silver objects, executed for him by Edward Farrell. John Culme proposed this thesis in his important study “Kensington Lewis: A Nineteenth Century Businessman,” Connoisseur, September 1975”.
Lewis was an expert Salesman, and was able to channel the Duke of York’s profligate spending toward Farrell, a talented silversmith capable of creating new designs from a variety of historical sources. It was this phenomenal collaboration of patron, retailer and craftsman which resulted in these highly original objects. Details of an important pair of George IV silver gilt ewers made by Edward Farrell, in 1824, for the Duke of York are shown overleaf
PRINCE FREDERICK AUGUSTUS
DUKE OF YORK & ALBANY 16TH AUGUST 1763-5TH JANUARY 1827)
Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany was born at St. James’s Palace, the second son of King George III and Queen Charlotte. A soldier by profession, from 1764 to 1803 he was Prince Bishop of Osnabruck in the Holy Roman Empire. From the death of his father in 1820, until his own death in 1827, he was heir presumptive to his elder brother King George IV.
Frederick was thrust into the British Army at a very early age and was appointed to high command at the age of thirty, when he was given command of a notoriously ineffectual campaign during the War of the First Coalition, a continental war following the French Revolution. Later as Commander in Chief during the Napoleonic Wars, he oversaw the re-organisation of the British Army, establishing vital structural, administrative and recruiting reforms for which he is credited with having done ”more for the army than any one man has done for it in the whole history of its history”. He did suffer military setbacks in 1799 and was mocked, unfairly, in the rhyme “The Grand Old Duke of York”.
He died of dropsy at the home of the Duke of Rutland in 1827 and was interred in the Royal Vault in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
RELATED ITEMS
, second son of King George III & The Queen Consort, Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and presumably supplied through Kensington Lewis.These bowls appeared for sale first in the auction at Christie’s, London, from 19th – 22nd March, 1827 of the Magnificent Silver & Silver Gilt Plate of His Royal Highness, The Duke of York, Deceased. The bowl is silver gilt, baluster in form and stands on a spreading foot. Each of the bowls had differing script in quasi Seventeenth century lettering taken from the book of proverbs. In addition each Bowl had identical decoration of the arms of King James I and heraldic emblems within an arcaded framework. The design of these bowls was apparently based upon a curious series of early seventeenth century wooden cups with similar “pyrographic” decoration and, usually, with a date. More particularly two wooden bowls are known, bearing the same form of decoration – one with the date 1611 (now in the Museum of Life in Gloucester); and another with the date 1610, this having been in the collection of the 20th century dealer and collector, Owen Evan-Thomas. The purpose of the silver gilt bowl was most probably for fruit, either as table decoration, or during the dessert course. The inscriptions on this particular bowl are as follows:“He that loveth pastime should be a pooreman and he that loveth wine & oyle shall not be rich” and in a band of smaller script below: “ The wicked shall be a ransome for the just, and the transgressour for the righteous”.Five other bowls from this set have been recorded in the last few decades, usually being sold through Christie’s or Sotheby’s, however examples seldom appear on the market. These bowls are discussed in “Antiquity Revisted- English & French silver gilt from the Collection of Audrey Love” by Phillips & Sloane, published by Christie’s in 1997. The Love collection included several highly important pieces of silver-gilt supplied by Kensington Lewis for the Duke of York and made by Edward Farrell. A set of twenty –four bowls in the same spirit were supplied to the King after 1827 and invoiced as “Verrieres with devices after the pattern of His late Royal Highness the Duke of York…. with antique gothic scroll ornaments”The Bowl is in quite excellent condition and is fully marked up in the foot.Height: 4.1 inches.Diameter at the widest point: 6.2 inches.Weight: 20ozKENSINGTON LEWISThe name Kensington Lewis is associated with some of the most innovative silver of the early 19th century. This is particularly true with the extraordinary group of silver which he supplied to Prince Fredrick Augustus, Duke of York the second son of King George III. His work anticipates the full-blown historicism of the mid 19th century. The Duke of York and his elder brother, the Prince Regent, later King George IV, were together the most influential collectors and patrons of silver of their time. The Duke of York’s silver, however, was based largely on baroque sources, and stands apart from the classical styles promoted by the Royal Goldsmiths, Rundell, Bridge & Rundell and supplied to the King.Credit for the distinctive style of the Duke of York’s silver must be given to Kensington Lewis, whose passion for 17th century silver was demonstrated by his purchases in the Duke of Norfolk’s auction in 1816. Such objects in Lewis’s possession undoubtedly influenced his designs for new silver objects, executed for him by Edward Farrell. John Culme proposed this thesis in his important study “Kensington Lewis: A Nineteenth Century Businessman,” Connoisseur, September 1975”.Lewis was an expert Salesman, and was able to channel the Duke of York’s profligate spending toward Farrell, a talented silversmith capable of creating new designs from a variety of historical sources. It was this phenomenal collaboration of patron, retailer and craftsman which resulted in these highly original objects. Details of an important pair of George IV silver gilt ewers made by Edward Farrell, in 1824, for the Duke of York are shown overleafPRINCE FREDERICK AUGUSTUSDUKE OF YORK & ALBANY 16TH AUGUST 1763-5TH JANUARY 1827)Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany was born at St. James’s Palace, the second son of King George III and Queen Charlotte. A soldier by profession, from 1764 to 1803 he was Prince Bishop of Osnabruck in the Holy Roman Empire. From the death of his father in 1820, until his own death in 1827, he was heir presumptive to his elder brother King George IV.Frederick was thrust into the British Army at a very early age and was appointed to high command at the age of thirty, when he was given command of a notoriously ineffectual campaign during the War of the First Coalition, a continental war following the French Revolution. Later as Commander in Chief during the Napoleonic Wars, he oversaw the re-organisation of the British Army, establishing vital structural, administrative and recruiting reforms for which he is credited with having done ”more for the army than any one man has done for it in the whole history of its history”. He did suffer military setbacks in 1799 and was mocked, unfairly, in the rhyme “The Grand Old Duke of York”.He died of dropsy at the home of the Duke of Rutland in 1827 and was interred in the Royal Vault in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. ){kind=link}