A George III Silver Epergne after a design by Charles Heathcote Tatham, Philip Cornman, London, 1805, retailed by Rundell Bridge and Rundell

triform base raised on three lions couchant each with a raised paw, applied with the arms of the city of London on one side, another with arms within a foliate cartouche, the third side with presentation inscription, all between martial trophies, fitted with a central cut-glass bowl supported by stiff leaves and flanked by three foliate arms rising from hexafoils each fitted with a cut-glass dish, now mounted on a black marble base, silver with metal bracing, fully marked and with scratch weight 147=18, signed Rundell Bridge et Rundell Aurifices Regis Londini Fecerunt 

marble later, one smaller glass bowl does not fit flush, minor chips to glass, 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 inscription reads: "To Lieut. Coll. Beachcroft as a Pledge of sincere & lasting Esteem from his affectionate Friends & Brother Soldiers the LIGHTHORSE VOLUNTEERS of London and Westminster".

The arms are those of the City of London impaling the City of Westminster, and probably those of Beachcroft. 

The Light Horse Volunteers of London and Westminster was revived as a fighting force of the first rank in 1794, and "a man enrolled in them achieved a modest standard of living and moral strength". Lt. Col. Matthew Beachcroft was at one time second in command of the Light Horse Volunteers under Col. Charles Herries.  Beachcroft died on 6 April 1823 at the age of sixty-four.

This epergne is one of five known examples of Philip Cornman's work based on the designs of Charles Heathcote Tatham. Other examples include an 1806 centerpiece nearly identical to a design for 'A Piece of Plate... for the Earl of Carlisle in the Year 1801, weight 500 ounces' published in Tatham's Design for Ornamental Plate, in 1806, and an 1809 silver-gilt centerpiece for Charles, 8^th Baron Kinnaird and his wife Lady Olivia Letitia Catherine Fitzgerald.   An 1803 centerpiece for Alexander Lindsay, 6^th Earl of Balcarres, and an 1806 part dessert service with the arms of Beaumont with Wentworth in pretense, both demonstrate an amalgamation of Tatham's design elements with those of Jean-Jacques Boileau.

An accomplished artist in multiple mediums, Philip Cornman was first recorded in 1768 as an apprentice to a smallworker in gold, and subsequently as a printer and engraver, a print seller, a dealer of drawings and paintings, a wax modeler, a silversmith, a jeweler and a worker in gilt brass.  Given the variety of his many talents, it is not surprising that his known surviving works in silver are rare.  His first mark as a smallworker was registered in 1793, but it was not until nearly a decade later that he began to produce significant works in silver, including those retailed by Rundell, Bridge and Rundell.  Cornman seems to have specialized in the manufacture of substantial, rather architectural plate, as represented by the present lot, and nine variations on this theme were made between 1800 and 1807.  Given Cornman's penchant for large-scale works, the Greco-Roman designs of Charles Heathcote Tatham would have served as ideal source material.  Although Cornman was a subscriber to Tatham's Design for Ornamental Plate, there is only one instance in which it is possible to make a direct connection between Cornman and Tatham or one of Tatham's patrons.

Tatham's approach to neoclassicism borrowed directly from the classical art and architecture that he had studied in Rome as a pupil of Henry Holland.  In his introduction to his folio of engravings Tatham wrote: "The works of the Ancients are a MAP TO THE STUDY OF NATURE- they teach us what objects we are to select for imitation and the method in which they may be combined for effect".  He was also a proponent of the progression towards more grand and monumental plate and asserted in the introduction to Design for Ornamental Plate that "It has been much lamented...that modern plate has much fallen off both in design and in execution...instead of Massiveness, the principal characteristic of good Plate, light and insignificant forms have prevailed...".  Alas, the result of Tatham's proclivity towards massiveness was that few of his silver designs were ever realized in their original forms, as they would have required too much metal to be affordable but to a small number of patrons.