A Victorian silver-gilt ewer, R. & S. Garrard, London, 1841

of baluster form applied with a female mask below the spout, and chased with strapwork and foliage on matted ground surrounding three cartouches, one cast and chased with a vignette of Britannia before figures in a plantation allegorical of the demise of slavery, the front cartouche engraved with arms, the third cartouche containing a long inscription, the knop chased with lobes bearing a male and female openwork double strap handle applied with matching decoration, masks, the scew-on stand with four fluted volute feet, fully marked and stamped R.&S. GARRARD PANTON ST. LONDON

Sold Sotheby's, New York, 31 October 1991, lot 309.

Literature

Nick Draper, '"Possessing Slaves": Ownership, compensation and Metropolitan Society in Britain at the time of Emancipation 1834-40,' History Workshop Journal, no. 64, 2007.

Michael Craton, Sinews of the Empire, Temple Smith, London, 1874, pp. 276-80.

Sotheby's would like to take this opportunity of thanking Nick Draper of the History Department, University College London, for his help in the preparation of this footnote.

Overall In very good condition. The lip is bent with a small split.
"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."

The arms are those of the recipient.

James Lewis, one of the children of James Lewis of Jamaica, West Indies, and Clifton, near Bristol, Somerset, was born, probably in Jamaica, about 1778. He was sometime Speaker of the House of Assembly of Jamaica and Advocate General for that island. His second son, William Frederick Lewis, became one of the Puisne Judges of the Supreme Court of Jamaica and died in London aged 42 on 11 December 1857.

 

The Slavery Abolition Bill, which sought to abolish slavery throughout the British Empire, was successfully passed by both Houses of Parliament and received the Royal Assent on 29 August 1833. The Act (which came into force on 1 August 1834) provided a fund of £20 million to be distributed as compensation to slave owners, the majority of whom were either in or connected with the West Indies; this amounted to an average of about £25 for each slave. Under the Act a system of arbitration was established, which was known as the Slave Compensation Commission and which began its work in October 1833 at 25 Great George Street under the chairmanship of Charles Christopher Pepys (later 1^st Earl of Cottenham), a lawyer, who in 1836 was appointed Lord Chancellor. The Commission, composed of three salaried members (James Lewis, Hastings Elwin and Henry Frederick Stephenson) and three non-salaried members, was subsequently chaired by John Bonham Carter, MP for Portsmouth. During the nine years of its existence, the Commission processed 45,000 individual claims from the owners of some 800,000 slaves.

 

The 'able and zealous manner' in which Commissioners discharged their duties on behalf of the former slave-owning colonial planters and merchants prompted the latter to vote for a suitably inscribed piece of plate to be presented to Messrs. Lewis, Elwin and Stephenson. This was resolved at a meeting at the West India Committee Room, Bishopsgate Street, on 17 April 1839 under the chairmanship of Andrew Colville, sometime Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company (The Times, London, 4 May 1839, p.1b). By the time the subscription was closed and the pieces of plate were ready Hastings Elwin was in Sydney, Australia. In light of no further report of the testimonials having yet come to light, it is assumed that the actual presentations may have been private affairs

 

James Lewis, a widower, died at his home, 25 Park Street, Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, on 18 August 1847. By his will, signed on 21 July 1847 and proved on 4 September following, he gave to his son, George 'all my household furniture and effects plate linen china and wines and liquors except the piece of Plate that was presented to me as Commissioner of Compensation by the Colonial Body which piece of Plate I bequeath to my Son Philip...' The latter, who had been born in Jamaica about 1813, was educated at University College, Oxford, where he gained an MA degree in 1836. A year later he was ordained as a priest by Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt, Archbishop of York. From 1850 to 1879 Philip Lewis was Perpetual Curate of the parish of Bursledon, Hampshire. He then retired to live with his wife at Lansdowne Place, Brighton, were he died in the late 1880s.