An important Charles II London silver gilt sconce.
Oval shield embossed with tulips and peonies surrounding a young bacchus with a bunch of drapes and a dish beneath an awning. Mascaron with extended tongue above the curved branch with flowerhead nozzle and large drip pan. The terminal engraved with the crest of the Earls of Lonsdale in around 1808. H 52.5; W 44 cm, weight 2,637 g
London, crowned "S" maker's mark attributed to Robert Smythier, circa 1670.
This wall light belongs to the royal dinner silver which was given to the court goldsmiths Rundell, Bridge, & Rundell in 1808 to cover the costs of the new court silver produced to furnish Kensington Palace for the Princess of Wales. Instead of smelting down the silver, the Rundells sold the most important pieces to their regular customers. The wall lights were apparently purchased by William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale (1757 - 1844). His crest, engraved in the upper section of the piece, contains the band of the Order of the Garter which he was awarded in 1807.
Although at least six wall lights from the same set appeared in auctions at Christie's in 1947, 1968, and 1975, this piece appears to be the only example still with the original single-light branch. The remaining pieces were fitted with three-light nozzles made by Paul Storr. Recent research has attributed the crowned S mark, which was formerly ascribed to Charles Shelley, to Robert Smythier, whose mark can also be found on other items of court silver dated from 1664 to 1686.
Provenance
Formerly in the possession of the English royal family; Earls of Lonsdale, sold by Christie's Geneva, 25th April 1978, lot 37.
Literature
For Rundell & Bridge's court silver purchases see cat.: Royal Goldsmiths, The Art of Rundell & Bridge 1797 - 1843, London 2005, p. 92 f.