A GEORGE IV SILVER-GILT PRESENTATION TWO-HANDLED CUP, COVER AND PLINTH, JOHN EDWARD TERREY FOR J.E. TERREY & CO., LONDON, 1826

on chased circular base supporting four cherubs representing the Seasons below the campana-shaped bowl richly cast and chased with a frieze of figures in chariots drawn by horses and leopards, with dancing fauns and Silenus carried by attendant bacchanalians between borders of foliage and grape-laden vines, similar cast handles rising from satyr masks, cast leaf and grapes finial, the cut-cornered square base with acanthus leaf border, each corner applied with a horse's head, the sides applied with cast rectangular cartouches, one enclosing a coat-of-arms, crest, motto and supporters, one blank, two others with vignettes of a vixen and cubs and a group of fox hounds in a rural setting

Some light wear to gilding at highlights, the presentation inscription erased, minor dents at edges of stand and some surface scrates on the top of the stand, otherwise in overall very good condition.
"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 Berkeley, earls of Berkeley for William Fitzhardinge Berkeley (1786-1857), the natural son of Frederick Augustus, 5^th Earl of Berkeley (1745-1810) by Mary (d. 1844), who was known to society as 'Miss Tudor,' daughter of William Cole of Wotton, near Gloucester, a publican and butcher. The Earl and Miss Cole were eventually married 'very privately' at Lambeth Church on 16 May 1796 although she claimed (for the benefit of her eldest son) in an oath given to the Lords' Committee for Privileges in 1811 to have wed the father of her children at Berkeley on 30 March 1785. Even though a negative decision by the Lords in the matter of William Fitzhardinge Berkeley's legitimacy robbed him of his father's dignities, he did inherit the family's vast estates and property, including Berkeley Castle. Thereafter, until 1831, he styled himself Colonel Berkeley and as such was universally celebrated in the world of politics, sport and fashion. While he had many friends in these circles he also scandalised his contemporaries by an abandonment to pleasure and, not least, his seduction of the Covent Garden actress, Maria Foote (1798-1867) who subsequently became the Countess of Harrington.

Colonel Berkeley, who was MP for Gloucestershire in 1810-11, was elevated to the peerage in 1831 as Baron Segrave of Berkeley Castle. He was Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire between 1836 and his death, and was further ennobled as Earl Fitzhardinge in 1841. He died unmarried at the age of 70 at Berkeley Castle on 10 October 1857, when all his honours became extinct. The Morning Leader (London, 17 October 1857) concluded tartly that Fitzhardinge 'but for his noble birth might have been a Boots' (i.e. a bootblack).

The cup, cover and plinth in this lot was presented at the close of 1826 to Colonel Berkeley by the members of the Berkeley Hunt, which he had established nearly twenty years before. The occasion was a 'sumptuous dinner' at the Plough Hotel, Cheltenham, which was described as 'a scene of the highest festivity.' In anticipation of the event, The Sporting Magazine (January 1827, p. 209) printed a description of the gift, as follows:

'This splendid offering of esteem, a superb gold cup, is just completed, in a style of magnificence and tasteful elegance seldom equalled. It is two feet six inches in height, and capable of containing a dozen bottles of wine. The cup, supported by the four Seasons, admirably executed, stands on a richly chased and massive pedestal, divided into eight compartments - those at the corners being decorated with masks of horses' heads from the antique. The first medallion displays the Berkeley arms - the second, a cast of their favorite fox-hounds, from a fine picture at Berkeley Castle - the third, a vixen fox and cubs, an exquisite piece of workmanship - and the fourth contains this inscription: -

Presented to

COLONEL BERKELEY,
As a Tribute of Friendship,
By the Members
of the
Berkeley Hunt Club,
Dec. 26, 1826.'"

In his speech of acceptance, Colonel Berkeley spoke of fox hunting as 'high among our pleasures... an amusement wholly without alloy'; it had cheered his cheeriest hours and been the solace of some of his saddest moments. He concluded by assuring his listeners 'that when the grim huntsman who never misses his game - though in some instances, like huntsmen of this world, he makes short bursts of it, and in others long-hunting runs - when he shall have run me to my last earth, I shall derive consolation in leaving behind me this mark of your friendship and esteem; and while memory exists, during this chase of life, it is a token which will be cherished by me with an affectionate and grateful feeling, which you, the donors, can well imagine, but which I have no power to describe.' (The Sporting Magazine, February 1827, pp. 269-70)

In his article, 'A Problem of Artistic Responsibility: The Firm of Rundell, Bridge & Rundell' (Apollo, London, March 1966), the late Charles Oman suggested that the design of the figure-laden horse- and leopard-drawn chariots, as well as Silenus and his attendants, might have been after original drawings by the sculptor, William Theed (1764-1817). The latter was both a partner in and artistic director of the royal goldsmiths, Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, and Oman draws attention to a number of the firm's wine coolers and vases, variously bearing the marks of Benjamin Smith and Paul Storr, which date from about 1808 to 1812, whose bodies are decorated with these subjects. Quite where J.E. Terrey's place in this jigsaw of inter-trade relations was is open to speculation, but it is worth drawing attention to a pair of silver-gilt wine coolers bearing his mark, London, 1830, whose sides are decorated in a similar manner with friezes of vineyard figures (Sotheby's, Italy, 28 May 1990, lot 130).