A George III Silver-gilt Tray of American Historical Interest, Benjamin Smith & James Smith, London, 1810

oval, the openwork border chased with Vitruvian scrolling foliage spaced by flowerheads and with ribbon-wrapped berried laurel rim, the handles formed as leaf-wrapped cornucopiae centered by double-faced panther masks, the center engraved with a contemporary presentation inscription surrounding an oval reserve, raised on four massive scroll and crouching satyr supports, fully marked

slight dip in surface wear inscribed but not in vacant oval however there is no question about the date of the inscription because the donor died the next year, one minor reinforcing strap behind border, two feet lack the outer three foliate pendants, one foot lacks both, can be cast from survivors; otherwise 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.
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 inscription reads: "THIS SALVER WAS PRESENTED By Sir John Lowther Johnstone of Westerhall, Bart, To Robert Troup Esq., In testimony of his Friendship & Esteem". 

Sir John Lowther Johnstone, 6^th Baronet of Westerhall, was born in 1783 and became M.P. in 1810.  He was the nephew of Sir William Johnstone Pulteney (1729-1805), 5^th Baronet of Westerhall, a wealthy attorney of Scottish descent, and owner of vast quantities of land in both England and the United States.  A patron of science and art, Pulteney moved in progressive social circles.  He was a friend of the Scottish political philosopher and economist Adam Smith, as well as Robert Adam, for whom Pulteney served as a pallbearer at Adam's funeral.  Prior to the American Revolution Pulteney recognized the potential of the emerging nation.  He noted that as an independent nation America "would soon rival Europe in arts as well as grandeur, and their power in particular would rear itself of the decay of ours".  Although he sympathized with the American colonists' resistance to taxation without representation he urged a more just union, and in 1778 met with Benjamin Franklin in Paris to discuss an American-British conciliation. 

In 1792 Pultney purchased approximately 1.2 million acres of land in western New York State from Robert Morris, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and financier of the American Revolution, with Franklin's grandson, William Temple Franklin, acting as Morris' agent.  The 'Pulteney Purchase' included the towns known today as Pulteney, Pluteneyville, Caledonia, Williamson, Henrietta (named for his only daughter), and Bath (presumably named for his wife Frances Pulteney, cousin and heiress of the first Earl of Bath). 

Pulteney died in London on 30 May 1805.  His obituary in the Gentleman's Magazine noted that "His landed property amounted to nearly £2,000,000, and he was the greatest American stockholder ever known."  Pulteney's nephew John Lowther Johnstone succeeded to the baronetcy, becoming the 6^th Baronet of Westerhall, yet the lands were inherited by his daughter Henrietta Laura, Countess of Bath.  Henrietta Laura died three years later without heir and the lands thus passed to Johnstone.

Robert Troup (1757-1774), the recipient of this tray, had acted as principal agent for the Pulteney estates in New York since 1802, and his services were retained by Johnstone upon his inheritance of the land.  Troup attended Kings's College (now Columbia University) with close friend Alexander Hamilton, and studied law under John Jay.  In 1776 he joined the Continental Army as a lieutenant and served under General Nathaniel Woodhulll.  On 27 August 1776 Troup was captured by the British during the Battle of Long Island and confined for some time on the prison-ship Jersey.  He was traded in the spring of 1777 and became the aide to General Horatio Gates.  Troup participated in the Battle of Stillwater, and the Battle of Saratoga on 17 October 1777, and is depicted in John Trumbull's painting of the Surrender of General Burgoyne at Saratoga.  Following the Revolution, Troup completed his legal studies in New Jersey with Judge William Patterson and eventually settled in Geneva, NY where he managed the Pulteney property.

Dated 1810, this tray would have been presented to Troup shortly before Johnstone's early death in 1811 at the age of twenty-eight.  Although it is uncommon for a presentation piece of this grandeur to lack the arms of its recipient, the vacant reserve is explained considering the recipient was an American, without title or arms.