A pair of Whitefriars crested decanters and stoppers James Powell & Sons, London, circa 1905

each tapering form finely engraved with the initial W below a coronet for the 2nd Duke of Westminster, below a slender neck and everted rim, over a collar and wide circular foot, the tall spiral-twisted stopper with ball finial

For the form illustrated in 1906 in The Studio Yearbook of Decorative Art, see L.Jackson (ed), Whitefriars Glass. The Art of James Powell and Sons, p.17, fig.37.

Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster, GCVO DSO (familiarly "Bendor") (1879-1953) succeeded his grandfather as Duke of Westminster in 1899 and lived at Eaton Hall, Cheshire. He served in the Second Boer War until 1901, as an ADC to Lord Roberts and Lord Milner. He subsequently invested in land in South Africa and Rhodesia. In 1908, he competed in the London Olympics as a motorboat racer for England.

His first marriage, to Constance Edwina Cornwallis-West, on 16th February 1901 ended in divorce in 1919. They had three children. The Duke led a colourful life taking many lovers, including Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel.

The Duke died in 1953, aged 74 and his titles passed to his cousin, William Grosvenor.