THE ORANGE-HANOVER SILVER MARRIAGE BASKET, Paul de Lamerie, London, 1733

oval, the slightly tapering sides embossed and pierced as basketweave below a similar border, twisted wirework handles, the centre engraved with two coats of arms accollé below a crown and flanked by supporters within a broad band of engraved scrolling strapwork, wings, foliage and shells

John Dunn Gardner MP (1811-1903), sold Christie, Manson & Woods, London, second day's sale, 30 April 1902, lot 251

Samuel Montagu, 1st Baron Swaythling (1832-1911)

 

South Kensington Museum (Victoria and Albert Museum), 1870 to 1901, among 320 pieces of largely English silver from the collection of John Dunn Gardner.

Loan Collection, St. James's Court, London, 1903

William Chaffers, Gilda Aurifabrorum, W.H. Allen & Co, London, 1883, p. 146, 'Basket, wicker pattern'

J. Starkie Gardner, Old Silver-Work. A Catalogue of the Unique Loan Collection Exhibited at St. James's Court, London, in Aid of the Children's Hospital, Gt. Ormond Street, 1902, B.T. Batsford, London, 1903, p. 91 and pl. CXIX, fig. 2

In very nice condition, with some light knife scratches in the well of the basket, mostly in the area of the arms For further queries regarding this lot please contact the Silver Department on +44(0)207.293.5531
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

In his Collector's Dictionary of the Silver and Gold of Great Britain and North America, Michael Clayton lists silver baskets under the heading, 'Basket, Bread or Dessert,' observing that this description 'is symptomatic of the individual's requirement of the piece.' He further states that although the Parker & Wakelin ledgers of the 1770s refer to them as 'bread baskets,' they are also known to have been used in the 18^th Century for ladies' sewing. Clayton also draws attention to two-handled silver baskets (oval and rectangular) of the 1670s and 1680s with shallow sloping sides which, he says, may have been intended as layettes: baskets for the clothing and bedding of a newborn child.

While the relationship between silver baskets and marriage is well known at this time in the Netherlands, there is an intriguing possibility that English baskets, specifically of the early 18^th Century may have had a similar association. Although the fashion may have lasted for only a short period, the survival of several such baskets from the early 1730s lends weight to this theory.

Of the group of eight recorded basketweave pattern baskets bearing Paul de Lamerie's mark, all of which are dated between 1731 and 1733, two are without question connected to high status marriages. One in the Farrer Collection at the Ashmolean Museum bears the arms of Paulet impaling Tufton for Lord Nassau Paulet (1698-1741) who in 1731 married Isabella, 5^th and youngest daughter of Thomas, 6^th Earl of Thanet.[1] The other is the present basket hallmarked between May 1733 and May 1734, bearing the arms of William IV, Prince of Orange and Nassau-Dietz (1711-1751) and Anne, Princess Royal of Great Britain (1709-1759), who were married in March 1734.

Another basket of the same general design, bearing the mark of David Willaume, London, 1733 (Sotheby's, London, 20 November 2003, lot 204), is also of interest in that it bears the arms of Tollemache impaling Carteret for Sir Lionel Tollemache, 5^th Baronet and 4^th Earl of Dysart (1708-1770), who married in July 1729 Grace, eldest daughter of John, Earl of Granville. According to Mrs Delaney, writing on 28 March 1734, Lady Dysart was riding with her mother and sister, Louisa, second wife of Thomas, 2^nd Viscount Weymouth, when the coach in which they were travelling 'over turned most violently: never were three women more frightened or with more reason. No harm has come of it, but considering the condition of the ladies, it was a most hazardous accident.'[2] It transpires that 'the condition' of the sisters was pregnancy, both giving birth later in the year to healthy sons and heirs for their respective lords.

If silver baskets at this date were indeed considered talismanic in the matter of marriage and procreation, then the significance was not lost on Princess Anne's husband. 'We hear,' wrote The Penny London Post in March 1734, 'that the princess royal found on her toilet [i.e. dressing table], the morning after her nuptials, a fine gold fillegreen [sic] basket, with several flowers in it, under which were a watch and equipage set with diamonds and rubies, to the value of 2000£. the same being a present from the prince of Orange. His highness had before presented her with jewels to the value of 30000£.'[3]

Other marriage gifts for the Prince and Princess of Orange there certainly were, although few details have come to light. That the desire for a happy and fruitful union was widespread cannot be doubted. For instance, a certain Mary Harris, an elderly Quaker celebrated for her skill in needlework, sent to Queen Caroline for her daughter two caps to be added to her childbed linen. The seams of one, intended for a prince, were finely stitched with the wish, '... may kind Heaven, with royal honours bless / His princely race, and send us large increase.'[4] The question remains to be asked, however, what gifts were forthcoming from other, more exalted individuals? With regard to the present basket at least two names should be mentioned. The first is Sir Robert Walpole (1676-1745), who has been described as Paul de Lamerie's 'most influential client' and it is his 'Great Seal' salver of 1728, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, which is perhaps one of the silversmith's most recognisable works.[5] As First Minister at the time of the Orange-Nassau marriage, Walpole was given the task of engineering this politically important union and was ultimately responsible for its success. [6]

The other possible candidate is the Earl of Chesterfield, who had known Prince William well between 1728 and 1732, during his tenure as ambassador to The Hague. Indeed, the Prince was a guest at Chesterfield's splendid banquets there, with their extravagant use of plate, including a pair of Paul de Lamerie wine coolers of 1727.[7] These pieces were among his official ambassadorial allocation of silver and silver-gilt, which included two 'terrains' weighing 289 ounces. Although the latter have disappeared and no description of them has been found, James Lomax speculates that one may have been illustrated by Chesterfield's cook, Vincent La Chapelle in the second edition of his The Modern Cook, published in 1736.[8] Meanwhile, upon Chesterfield's return to London, La Chapelle remained in The Hague as cook to Prince William before later accepting a similar post with Madame de Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV of France.

Rumours of a possible marriage between the Prince William of Orange-Nassau, great nephew of William III, and Anne, Princess Royal, eldest daughter of George II, were circulating in London very shortly after the latter's coronation in October 1727. In fact, such an alliance, preferably between Anne and the future Frederick the Great, had been among George I's ambitious dynastic plans. But by the time the Prince of Orange came of age in 1732, shifts in political alliances insured that he was the chief contender for the Princess's hand.

No sooner was it confirmed during August 1733 that the Prince and Princess were to be married (although the marriage contract was not formally ratified until 12 November [9]) than the fan maker Jonathan Pinchbeck of New Round Court in the Strand advertised the sale of a suitable souvenir: 'The Original NASSAU FAN; or, LOVE AND BEAUTY Triumphant. Being an Encomium on the Nuptial Ceremony which will shortly be consummated between his Highness the Prince of Orange and the Princess Royal of England ... There are a few neatly painted on Leather for the Curious.' [10] According to reports at that time, the Prince was expected to arrive in England very shortly and preparations were already in hand. Meanwhile, King George conveyed his compliments to the Prince along with the gift of 'one of the finest Sets of Horses in Europe, bred in his Majesty's own Stud at Hanover.' [11]

The nuptials, it was said, were to take place at the end of the month, for which three pairs of gloves were being made for the Princess, 'to be curiously wrought and embroidered, and the Backs of the Fingers to be interwoven with small Diamonds of great Value.'[12] Shortly afterwards it was reported that Whitell, the Queen's pinmaker, had presented the Princess with a set of silver pins for her wedding dress, similar to those he had conveyed to Her Majesty on her coronation day.[13] By now the public at large had embraced the coming ceremony with great enthusiasm. We hear, for instance, of a certain John Peto, 'a poor Labouring Man' who composed a song in honour of the forthcoming union, which he sang 'with an audible Voice' to Queen Caroline as she passed aboard a Thames ferry boat near Richmond; she in turn ordered a present of gold for Peto.[14]

In higher circles anticipation was no less intense. The poet Stephen Duck (1705?-1756) penned verses, which began 'Illustrious Prince, forgive the feeble Lay, / That now aspires to hail your Nuptial Day ...'; while George Frederick Handel, who had been Princess Anne's music teacher since 1723, lead his band of musicians in a special anthem written to be performed at the wedding ceremony in a preliminary performance before the royal family at St. James's Palace on 2 November 1733. [15]

After delays caused by inclement weather and the vagaries of the tides, Prince William finally arrived from Holland at the beginning of the week of 5 November 1733. A publican at Margate, who was the first person to see His Highness's flotilla of yachts off the Kent coast, immediately rode to Canterbury where he took post horses on towards St. James's Palace, which he reached at 11 o'clock at night to convey the news. For his trouble he was given 20 guineas by Queen Caroline and a further five guineas by Sir Robert Walpole, which he subsequently laid out on a silver tankard engraved with His Majesty's arms. [16]

On the Wednesday of that week Prince William arrived at the Tower from Greenwich upon the King's Barge and was conveyed from thence to Somerset House in one of His Majesty's coaches. Lord Harrington reported from Whitehall that 'His Highs. was received at his Landing, and attended thro the City of London with the greatest & most joyful Acclamations of a prodigious multitude of People...' [17] The Prince was accompanied by Lord Lovelace, Horatio Walpole (created Baron Walpole in 1756) and Master of Ceremonies, Sir Clement Cotterell. This procession

'was begun by a Party of the Foot-Guards, who march'd before the Coach his Highness was in, after came his Domesticks in several other Coaches, and lastly the Coaches of the Peers, and other Persons of Distinction. As soon as the Prince alighted at Somerset-House, he was received by the Dukes of Montagu and Devonshire, and several other Persons of Distinction. Who also had the Honour to dine with his Highness.' [18]

A delivery of plate from the Jewel Office to Somerset House at this time gives some idea of the sumptuous arrangements which had been made for entertaining the Prince: 'Six gilt Flaggons, Four gilt Basons & one Ewer, One large gilt Cup & Cover of State, Two large knurld Salvers, Eight gilt Casters, Four mons. Bowls [sic], Two wine Bowls, Four Crewetts ... one set of knives forks & spoons in a case ... Eighteen pair of Candlesticks [and] Nine pair of Snuffers & pans.' [19]

The following day at noon,

'the Right Hon. The Lord Chancellor [Peter King, 1^st Baron King], and all the Foreign Embassadors [sic], waited on his Highness the Prince of Orange [at Somerset House], to compliment him on his Arrival in England. About Two, his Highness, conducted by Sir Clement Cottrel [sic] ..., went to St. James's in one of his Majesty's Coaches, and was receiv'd upon the Stair-case by the Dukes of Grafton, Montague, Newcastle and Richmond, and the Right Hon. Sir Robert Walpole, after which he was conducted by the Lord Hinton to the King' Apartment, where his Majesty receiv'd him in a most tender and affectionate Manner; his Highness was afterwards conducted by the Earl of Grantham, attended by several Persons of Quality, to her Majesty's Apartment, where he was introduc'd to the Queen, the Princess Royal, and the others Princesses; his Highness the Prince of Wales [1707-1751], and then to the Duke [Prince William, Duke of Cumberland (1721-1765)], to whom having paid his Compliments, he came back to the Queen's Apartments, and staid 'till about Half an Hour after Three, when he return'd to Somerset-House. The same Day the Dukes of Grafton, Montague, Newcastle and Devonshire, had the Honour to dine with his Highness; and between Six and Severn at Night, his Highness went incognito to St. James's, and play'd at Cards for several Hours with the Prince of Wales, Princess[es] Royal, Amelia and Caroline, and return'd to Somerset House between Eleven and Twelve.' [20]

All who met the Prince are said to have been 'charm'd with his polite Behaviour and Affability.' One of those was the Earl of Chesterfield who was received by William at Somerset House 'with particular Marks of Esteem and Affection, as having a due Sense of the Merit of that truly English Nobleman, with whom his Highness was personally acquainted at the Hague.' [21]

The King had decided that the marriage between Princess Anne and the Prince should be solemnized at St. James's Palace on Monday, 12 November 1733, but at the last moment the ceremony was postponed. Lord Harrington, writing on the following day from his Whitehall office, was obliged to acquaint colleagues of the change of plans on account of 'his Highness having been taken on Sonday [sic] morning last with a Feverish Indisposition, which has confined him to his Chamber ever Since... As the Prince continues still to be something out of order, & not able to go safely abroad, there can as yet be no certain day appointed...' [22]

Clearly, the Prince's heavy schedule over the preceding few weeks had affected his health. Moreover, he had been violently ill on the crossing from Holland which itself had come soon after suffering an accident at the Hague in August by being thrown out of his chaise when one of its wheels had hit a turnpike post. Now at a meeting of doctors, including Dr Richard Mead, the King's Physician and Sir Hans Sloan, it was decided that the Prince should have a period of complete rest once his initial recovery was assured. [23]

Early in the New Year Prince William arrived in Bath to take the waters, where he was again enthusiastically received. His visit was commemorated by the naming of an area to the north west of Bath Abbey of gravel promenades and formal planting, first laid out earlier in the century. Henceforth this space was called Orange Grove, in the centre of which an obelisk was erected in the Prince's honour.

Towards the end of February 1734 Prince William accepted an invitation from the Corporation of Bristol to visit that city. He was entertained at Merchants' Hall with a splendid dinner, 'After which his Highness went to the Hot-Well, and having stayed there a short Time, returned to the said Hall, where Preparations were made for a Ball, which his Highness opened. This City has on this Occasion shewn all Demonstration of publick Joy by ringing of Bells, Illuminations, and cheerful Acclamations of the Inhabitants.' [24] Returning briefly to Bath, the Prince's next stop on his way back to London was at Oxford, where he and his retinue stayed the night with the Dean of Christchurch, with an excursion to Blenheim. [25]

Prince William eventually returned to London and Somerset House on the evening of 4 March when it was declared that his good health was restored. [26] Thereafter no time was lost in the arrangements for his marriage with the Princess Royal, the ceremony taking place in the German Chapel of St. James's Palace on the evening of 25 March 1734. Horace Walpole, observant as ever, was there and he afterwards recalled that the chapel was fitted up

'with an extreme good taste and as much finery as velvets, gold and silver tissue, galloons, fringes, tassels, gilt lustres, and sconces could give. The King spared no expense on this occasion: but if he had not loved a show, better than his daughter, he would have chosen rather to have given her this money, to make her circumstances easy, than to have laid it out in making her wedding splendid.

'He behaved himself well during the ceremony: but her mother and sisters were under so much undisguised and unaffected concern the whole time, that the procession to the Chapel and the scene there looked more like the mournful pomp of a sacrifice than the joyful celebration of a marriage.

'The Prince of Orange was a less shocking and less ridiculous figures in this pompous procession and at supper than one could naturally have expected such an Æsop, in such trappings and such eminence, to have appeared. He had a long peruke-like hair that flowed all over his back, and hid the roundness of it: and as his countenance was not bad, there was nothing very strikingly disagreeable about his stature.

'The sisters spoke much in the same style as the mother, with horror of his figure, and great commiseration of the fate of his wife. Princess Emily [Amelia] said, nothing on earth should have induced her to marry the monster. Princess Caroline, in her soft sensible way spoke truth, and said she must own it was very bad, but that in her sister's situation, all things considered, she believed she should have come to the same resolution.'

As for the bridegroom, who was dressed for the occasion in a suit of cloth of gold, Walpole wrote that he was a man

'the hideousness of whose appearance is said to have been only exceeded by some monster in a Pantomime, or some ogre in a fairy-tale. In giving him her hand, the Princess seems to have been entirely influenced by a feminine love of Power and Rule. To her Mother, she once observed, "I would die to-morrow, to be Queen to-day." Again when her father warned her affectionately on the subject of her lover's repulsive appearance, adding that it was not too late to recede, "I would marry him" said she "even if he were a baboon." Fortunately, however, the Prince, as we learn from Lord Chesterfield, had many great and good qualities, and accordingly the Princess grew fond of him and is said to have been jealous of his attentions to other women.' [27]

The London Gazette reported on the marriage ceremony in detail, observing that,

'The Bride in her nuptial habit with a Coronet, conducted by the Lord Chamberlain and Vice Chamberlain, and supported by the Prince of Wales, and the Duke, wearing the Collar of the Garter, her train borne by ten young Ladies, daughters of Dukes and Earls ... Upon the entry, the Bride was conducted to her Stool, placed below her Majesty's Chair of State and opposite to that of the Bridegroom. The Prince of Wales and the Duke retired to the Stools placed for them upon one side of the Altar... His Majesty was seated in his Chair of State in the Upper angle of the Haut Pas [temporary dais] on the right side. Her Majesty was seated in her Chair of State on the other side of the Haut Pas, and the four Princesses on the Stools placed next to the Duke at the side of the Altar...' [28]

Once the ceremony was over the royal family supped in public in the Great State Ballroom after which the newly married couple retired. By late April 1734 the Prince and Princess of Orange were on their way to Holland, making their entrance 'with great Magnificence' into Leeuwarden on 11 May: 'The Burghers, who were under Arms, saluted their Highnesses at their Arrival with a triple Discharge; in the Evening there were Illuminations, a fine Firework played off, and all other publick Demonstrations of Joy.' [29]

Sotheby's would like to thank Vanessa Brett for her help in the preparation of this note, particularly in reference to the obelisk at Bath.

Notes

1. E. Alfred Jones, Catalogue of the Collection of Old Plate of William Francis Farrer, The St. Catherine Press, London, 1924, p. 106, pl. LV
2. Lady Llanover, editor, The Autobiography and Correspondence of Mary Granville, Mrs Delaney, Richard Bentley, London, 1861, p. 447 The 3. Penny London Post, London, Friday, 22 March 1734, pp. 2b/3a
4. Robert Huish, Public and Private Life of ... George the Third, Thomas Kelly, London, 1821, p. 15
5. Susan Hare, 'Paul de Lamerie 1688-1751,' Paul de Lamerie At the Sign of The Golden Ball, exhibition catalogue, Goldsmiths' Hall, London, 1990, p. 11, and pp. 92-98
6. For commentary on this marriage and its significance in contemporary politics, see Veronica Baker-Smith, 'The daughters of George II: marriage and dynastic politics,' Clarissa Campbell Orr, editor, Queenship in Britain, 1660-1837, Manchester University Press, 2002, ch. 7
7. Sotheby's, London, 4 February 1988, lot 112
8. 'Silver for the English Dining Room 1700-1820,' A King's Feast, exhibition catalogue, Kensington Palace, London, 1991, p. 125, illustrated on p. 123. In some respects, the tureen in the La Chapelle engraving bears some resemblance to the Drury-Lowe de Lamerie soup tureen and cover of 1736 (Sotheby's, London, 4 June 1998, lot 223), which was split from its pair (now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York) before 1797.
9. National Archives, SP 108/550
10. The Country Journal; or, The Craftsman, London, Saturday, 1 September 1733, p. 4c; a fan of this description was presented by Lady Charlotte Schreiber to the Department of Prints and Drawings, British Museum
11. The Penny London Post, London, Monday, 10 September 1733, p. 2a 12. The Daily Courant, London, Thursday, 20 September 1733, p. 2c
13. The Gentleman's Magazine, London, January 1734, p. 46
14. The St. James's Evening Post, London, Thursday, 18 October 1733, p. 2b
15. The St. James's Evening Post, London, Saturday, 3 November 1733, p. 2a
16. The London Penny Post, London, Friday, 9 November 1733, p. 2b
17. National Archives, SP 91/15, fol. 19
18. The London Penny Post, London, Friday, 9 November 1733, p. 2b
19. National Archives, LC 9/45, fol. 48
20. The London Evening News, London, Thursday, 8 November 1733, p. 2a
21. Ibid
22. National Archives, SP 91/15, fol. 131
23. The Daily Post, London, Monday, 3 September 1733, p. 1a; The Daily Courant, London, Friday, 16 November 1733, p. 1c
24. The London Gazette, London, Saturday, 23 February 1734, p. 3a
25. The London Gazette, London, Tuesday, 26 February 1734, p. 1a
26. The London Gazette, London, Saturday, 2 March 1734, p.1a
27. Quoted in Edgar Sheppard, Memorials of St James's Palace, Longmans, Green & Co, London, 1894, pp. 69-70
28. The London Gazette, London, Tuesday, 12 March 1734, p. 1b-3a The 29. London Gazette, London, Tuesday, 7 May 1734, p. 1a