Ellis Finch
Head of Knightsbridge Silver Department
Lots 62-65 are from a Private UK Collection
Lot 62
A George III silver sauce tureen, from The Duchess of St Albans Service by Benjamin Smith II and Benjamin Smith Jnr (III), London 1817
21 November 2018, 13:00 GMT
London, New Bond StreetSold for £13,750 inc. premium
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Michael Moorcroft
Consultant
A George III silver sauce tureen, from The Duchess of St Albans Service
by Benjamin Smith II and Benjamin Smith Jnr (III), London 1817
Modelled after the Warwick vase, the cover chased with band of acanthus, applied bead band, leaf knop and calyx, the body with typical lion pelt and dramatic mask-head decoration and elaborately entwined handles with vine leaf upper band, engraved with the monogram 'H St A' beneath a Duchess' coronet, twice on the feet and covers, and once on the liner for Harriot Beauclerk, Duchess of St Albans, height 20cm, length 22cm, weight 70.5oz.
Modelled after the Warwick vase, the cover chased with band of acanthus, applied bead band, leaf knop and calyx, the body with typical lion pelt and dramatic mask-head decoration and elaborately entwined handles with vine leaf upper band, engraved with the monogram 'H St A' beneath a Duchess' coronet, twice on the feet and covers, and once on the liner for Harriot Beauclerk, Duchess of St Albans, height 20cm, length 22cm, weight 70.5oz.
Footnotes
Provenance:
Harriot Mellon, Duchess of St Albans (1777-1837) and then by descent to her stepgranddaughter Angela Burdett-Coutts (1814-1906), later 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts.
Christie, Mason and Woods, Catalogue of The Coutts Heirlooms originally the property of Harriet Mellon, Duchess of St Albans, London, 14 May 1914, lot 82 (weight given as 70oz 15 dwt (70.75oz).
A private UK collection.
Harriot Beauclerk, Duchess of St Albans (née Mellon, 1777–1837), was born into a travelling theatre group and made her acting debut at the age of ten. From these humble origins Harriet Mellon made two very advantageous marriages.
Whilst performing at the Duke Street Theatre, Mellon attracted the attention of the Anglo-Scottish banker, Thomas Coutts (1735-1822). The couple were married following the death of Coutts' first wife in 1815. On his own death seven years later, Mellon inherited his vast fortune together with his partnership in Coutts Bank.
Mellon proved to be an excellent businesswoman and banker, taking an active role in investment and management decisions.
Her second husband was William Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk, 9th Duke of St Albans, whom she married in 1827. She died on 6th August 1837 at her home in London. Harriot had no children and the majority of her fortune was bequeathed to her stepgranddaughter Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts. Most of her lavish collection of silver was placed in a vault at Coutts Bank where it remained until 1914. There upon some 35,000 ounces of silver formed part of the Coutts Heirloom sale from 14th May 1914.
A similar pair of tureens by the same maker and date with heraldic finials were sold at Sotheby's, New York, 23rd October 2014, lot 459.
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