A George IV silver wine cooler and liner, Edward Farell, for Kensington Lewis, London, 1826

campana form, the heavily cast and chased body wirh scenes on either side of Bacchic putti playing surrounded by acanthus leaves, spreading rocaille foot with detachable cast figures of a lion, unicorn and snake, male and female term handles, grape laden cast vine leaf border, the liner stamped LEWIS SILVERSMITH TO THE DUKE OF YORK / LONDON

Associated literature:

John Culme, 'Kensington Lewis, A nineteenth-century businessman,' The Connoisseur, September 1975.

Peter Cameron, 'Henry Jernegan, the Kandlers and the client who changed his mind,' The Silver Society Journal, no. 8, Autumn 1996, pp. 487-500.

the rim of the liner is very worn through to the hallmarks. One screw on the pot is loose but original. Two screws are later. one screw deficient from the rim, one is later. One flower petal next to the lion on the base is missing. Otherwise in excellent 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 work of the early 19^th Century London silversmith and chaser Edward Cornelius Farrell (1775/81?-1850) first attracted serious attention in 1975 when John Culme, having been exposed to a number of pieces bearing his mark, set out to investigate his career. It was found almost impossible to do so, however, except by reference to Kensington Lewis (1790-1854) whose name seemed to be so often linked with Farrell's pieces. It transpired that Lewis, the one-time bullion dealer who in the 1820s briefly became one of London's most visible retail goldsmiths, had been associated with Farrell and his workshop between about 1813 and 1827, the most fruitful years of their careers. Indeed, without Lewis's ambition and insinuating charm it is difficult to imagine how Farrell might have fared. The silversmith had already found an outlet for his unusual patterns through what is thought to be the shop of Thomas Holland, a retail silversmith in Bell Yard, Temple Bar. But it was the ambitious Lewis, boasting the Duke of York as his chief customer and keen to promote a style different from that of his rivals, who encouraged Farrell to indulge to the full his taste for flamboyant reinterpretations of 17^th and early 18^th Century examples of the silversmiths' art.

This present wine cooler finds Farrell at some distance from his usual inspiration of old Dutch and German pieces. Instead, it appears that he has used as his reference the engraving of 1735 by Gérard Jean-Baptiste Scotin after Hubert François Gravelot of the celebrated wine cistern made in 1734 by Charles Kandler on behalf of the goldsmith-banker Henry Jernegan. This monumental object, which became the subject of a celebrated court case, has long been in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. Farrell has adapted the design to his own use, scaling down the size and adding and subtracting various elements to suit his own dramatic scheme.