Lot 109

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THE PROPERTY OF A EUROPEAN COLLECTOR

THE LORD DUCIE'S CHINOISERIE BOWLS AND COVERS A CHINESE EXPORT SILVER-GILT BOWL AND COVER, A MATCHING BOWL AND COVER AND A PAIR OF SILVER-GILT PLINTHS

ONE BOWL AND COVER CHINESE EXPORT, CIRCA 1730; THE MATCHING BOWL, COVER AND THE PLINTHS WITH MARK OF PAUL STORR, LONDON, 1810, RETAILED BY RUNDELL, BRIDGE AND RUNDELL

Name: THE LORD DUCIE'S CHINOISERIE BOWLS AND COVERS A CHINESE EXPORT SILVER-GILT BOWL AND COVER, A MATCHING BOWL AND COVER AND A PAIR OF SILVER-GILT PLINTHS
Brand: ONE BOWL AND COVER CHINESE EXPORT, CIRCA 1730; THE MATCHING BOWL, COVER AND THE PLINTHS WITH MARK OF PAUL STORR, LONDON, 1810, RETAILED BY RUNDELL, BRIDGE AND RUNDELL
Price: 190000.00 GBP
Availability: SoldOut

Price Realised GBP 237,500

Estimate

GBP 50,000 - GBP 80,000

Closed: 10 Feb 2022

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THE LORD DUCIE'S CHINOISERIE BOWLS AND COVERS A CHINESE EXPORT SILVER-GILT BOWL AND COVER, A MATCHING BOWL AND COVER AND A PAIR OF SILVER-GILT PLINTHS

ONE BOWL AND COVER CHINESE EXPORT, CIRCA 1730; THE MATCHING BOWL, COVER AND THE PLINTHS WITH MARK OF PAUL STORR, LONDON, 1810, RETAILED BY RUNDELL, BRIDGE AND RUNDELL

Price Realised GBP 237,500

Closed: 10 Feb 2022

Price Realised GBP 237,500

Closed: 10 Feb 2022

Details Lot Essay More from

The plinths each of stepped square section with canted corners resting on anthemion scroll feet, the octagonal bowls with conforming domed covers and onion-shaped finials, chased and applied with reserves of figures in Chinese lanscapes with birds, animals and flowering branches on matted ground, engraved on the plinths with a coat-of-arms with baron's coronet above, the Chinese bowl engraved with an inscription on the foot and further indistinct inscription underneath, with scratch weight '34=16', the George III silver marked on bowl, cover, finial and pedestals, further stamped '237', bowl and pedestals stamped '1' and '2' and 'RUNDELL BRIDGE ET RUNDELL AURIFCES REGIS ET PRINCIPIS WALLIAE'
15 in. (38.1 cm.) high overall
227 oz. 2 dwt. (7,065 gr.)
The arms on the plinths are those of Reynolds quartering Moreton and others impaling Herbert, for Thomas Reynolds Moreton, 4th Baron Ducie, later 1st Earl of Ducie, (1776–1840) and his wife Lady Frances Herbert, daughter of Henry Herbert, 1st Earl of Carnarvon, whom he married in 1797.

The inscription on the foot of the Chinese export bowl reads 'This Font was taken from the Cathedral Church of Lima'.

The Chinese export bowl presumably given to Captain Francis Reynolds-Moreton, 3rd Baron Ducie (1739-1808) or his son Thomas Reynolds Moreton, 4th Baron Ducie (1776–1840), the matching bowl and plinths commissioned by Thomas Reynolds Moreton, 4th Baron Ducie, then by descent to,
Basil Howard Moreton, 6th Earl of Ducie (1917–1991),
The Earl of Ducie; Christie's, London, 7 October 1959, lot 77 (£360 to Kaye).
A Lady of Title; Sotheby's, London, 23 January 1964, lot 63 (£2,800 to Lumley).
With Thomas Lumley Ltd., London.

Dr. H. A. Crosby Forbes, Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, 'Chinese Export Silver for the British Market, 1660-1780', volume 63, 1998-1999, pp. 1-18, figure 9.

This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.
Please note this lot is the property of a consumer. See H1 of the Conditions of Sale.

Conditions of Sale
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This lot is offered by Christie Manson & Woods Ltd

Brought to you by

Paul GalloisHead of European Furniture

A Christie's specialist may contact you to discuss this lot or to notify you if the condition changes prior to the sale.

pgallois@christies.com +44 (0) 20 7389 2260

Lot Essay

Chinese Export silver from the early 18th century is now very rare. Dr. H. A. Crosby Forbes greatly increased the understanding of the trade in Chinese export silver, re-attributing items once thought to be English. Although it is thought quite a quantity was imported into England as part of the ship captain's prerogative to trade on their own behalf, little survives today. The trade was conducted in a similar manner to the trade in Chinese export porcelain, which was brought into the country under the special terms for private trade allowed by the East India Company. It has been suggested that ship's captains, whose annual salary was £120, could add an additional £2,000 to their yearly income through this practice. Some of the silver would have been hallmarked on arrival, such as an octagonal teapot, now in the Museum of The American China Trade, struck with London hallmarks for 1682, however much remained unmarked.

The present bowl is engraved with an intriguing inscription which suggests it did not enter England through the usual route. The inscription records that the bowl was taken from the Cathedral Church in Lima, Peru. Much of the trade with China was paid for with South American silver therefore it would appear the bowl travelled to Lima as part of a circular trade route from Asia to the Americas, rather than being sent to Europe. The second inscription, now almost completely illegible, may have recorded the gift of the bowl to the Cathedral or to a later recipient. It is possible that the bowl was taken during one of the many raids made on the Cathedral by pirates and privateers in the 18th century, drawn to the building by the multitude of jewels, silver and gold made as offerings to the saints.

It is possible the bowl and cover was acquired or given to Francis, 3rd Baron Ducie (1739-1808), a captain in George III's navy, however, it may have been bought by his son, who commissioned the matching bowl and two plinths from the goldsmiths to King George III and the Prince of Wales, later King George IV, Rundell, Bridge and Rundell. Rundells later supplied King George IV with a silver-gilt Chinese export bowl, cover and stand. Thought to date from the late 17th century, it may be the 'silver porringer, cover and plate chased over' which cost the king £47 5s with additional costs for gilding and engraving and which is illustrated in Dr. H. A. Crosby Forbes, p. 9, fig. 8.