A Pair of Regency Silver Wine Coolers, Paul Storr, London, 1812

each in a form based on the Warwick Vase, raised on shallow square plinths, the bodies partly gadrooned and with egg-and-dart rims, applied on both sides with arms, supporters and a baron's coronet cast in high relief, the twisted vine branch handles spreading into applied leaves and grapes below the rim, detachable collars with guilloche border, fitted removable liners, fully marked and numbered 1, 2 throughout, also stamped 755, the base rims stamped RUNDELL BRIDGE ET RUNDELL AURIFICES REGIS ET PRINCIPIS WALLIAE REGENTIS

one small dent in body
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The arms are those of Butler, Barons of Cahir, for Richard (1775-1819) , 11th Baron of Cahir, created in 1816 Viscount Cahir and Earl of Glengall.  He succeeded as Baron Caher in July, 1788; that same year he succeeded to the estates of his distant cousin Piers, Baron Caher (d. June 1788).  Richard Butler was Representative Peer for Ireland from 1801 to 1819, being one of those originally elected.

In 1793 he married Emily, fourth and youngest daughter of James St. John Jeffereys of Blarney Castle, Co. Cork, by Isabel, sister of John, 1st Earl of Clare, Lord Chancellor of Ireland.  Although proprietors of Cahir Castle on the river Suir, one of the largest castles in Ireland, they preferred to reside in Cahir House, Tipperary, a georgian mansion now a hotel.  A visitor in 1793 reported:
Lord Cahir gave a most flaming fete champetre in Cahir House where the company dined under marquees on the lawn and danced all evening. Lady Cahir danced an Irish jig in her stockings to the music of an old blind piper. We had a superb supper in the three largest rooms, all crowded as full as they could and we did not get home till eight o'clock in the morning and so slept all the next day.

The same year as these coolers were made the Baron commissioned John Nash to build a Gothic Cottage in the 560-acre park, "a picturesque retreat... greatly admired for the extreme beauty of its situation;"  Nash also rebuilt the local church in 1817.  In 1809 the couple had sponsored a linen factory to foster local employment, which later turned to making plainted straw.  The earl died at Caher Castle in 1819, aged only 43, while his wife survived to the age of 69; she was found dead in her bed in Grosvenor Square in 1836.

A pair of dishes with the same arms, by Paul Storr, 1811, was sold Sotheby's, New York, May 20, 2004, lot 20.