A pair of George III Royal silver sauce boats

William Fountain, London 1806, engraved 'EDC' (Ernest Duke of Cumberland) and 'EAFs' (Ernsti Augusti FideikommisSum), one engraved 'No. 5'

Footnotes

Provenance

Ernest Augustus, 1st Duke of Cumberland and King of Hanover (r.1837-1851).
George V, King of Hanover (1819–1878).
Ernest Augustus II, Crown Prince of Hanover (1845–1923).
With Glückselig in 1924.
With Crichton Brothers of London in 1924.
Acquired by the present owner in the 1960s.

Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and later King of Hanover, was the fifth son of George III. On the death of his brother William IV Queen Victoria ascended the throne of Great Britain, but as a woman she was prevented from doing so in the Kingdom of Hanover. Consequently, Ernest Augustus became King of Hanover in 1837 and reined until his death in 1851.

A fideicommissum is a bequest whereby the recipient would in turn be expected to bequeath that same bequest to another person at a later stage. It was Ernest Augustus' intention that all silver in his fideicommissum would be passed down in a direct line of succession for 'Erhaltung des Glanzes Unserer Krone' (Maintaining the shine of our Crown). The silver in question (not only his own but also pieces belonging to his sister Auguste Sophie (1768-1840) and his wife Friederica (1778-1841)) was engraved 'EAF' in 1855.

In 1851 the silver passed to his son George Frederick, King of Hanover. When he was deposed during the Seven Weeks War in 1866 the family left for Austria. In 1923, following the death of George Frederik's son, part of the Hanover silver was sold to the Viennese dealer Glückselig, who in turn sold much of it to Crichton Brothers in London. The silver generated such interest that Crichton Brother staged an exhibition of the silver in 1924. The catalogue produced for the occasion includes the present lot which were displayed in Case No. 10 and described as '6 Sauce Boats...Maker, William Fountain, 1806. Engraved Arms of the Duke of Cumberland..