A William IV silver six-piece tea and coffee set, Paul Storr, London, 1832-34

comprising: Teapot and Stand, Coffee Pot on Warming Stand, Creamer and open Sugar Bowl, plain vase-shaped bodies with serpent handles, the warming stand with paw feet, marked on bases, covers, and handles, lamp and cover

surfaces a little bright, teapot with ding to side, coffee pot with minor dings to shoulders and lid missing spacer, traces of gilding to sugar bowl, otherwise good
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 sugar bowl's handles, formed as serpents bearing an egg in their mouths, were imagined by Thomas Hope.  Intended for household "utensils", the handles are illustrated in his Household Furniture and Interior Decoration, pl. XLVII.  Following the 1807 publication of Hope's catalogue, his serpent handles were often incorporated in Storr's sugar bowl designs, and can be found on an 1811 example sold by Sotheby's, New York, 21 October 1998, lot 209. 

A regular patron of Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, Hope both commissioned items based on his own designs and purchased from among the firm's stock items.  In 1828-9, Hope purchased a stock tea and coffee service of the same form as the present lot.  The silver-gilt service features Hope's serpent handles, as well as plaques depicting allegories of Britain's naval power designed by John Flaxman (Royal Goldsmiths: The Art of Rundell & Bridge 1797-1843, fig. 130).  An 1829/1831 white-silver service by John Bridge, engraved with the Rothschild arms, is identical to Hope's and is illustrated in the companion volume.