A set of four George III silver-gilt wine coolers, Thomas Heming, London, 1769

the otherwise plain slightly tapering bodies engraved on either side with a coat-of-arms within a rococo cartouche below a crest, applied rams' mask handles

Marks and overall condition are good; gilding is probably not original
"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 Carroll or O'Carroll, Ireland.

Thomas Heming, one of the several children of Richard Heming (or Hemming), a mercer of Ludlow, Shropshire, and his wife, Beatrix, was born on 23 January 1722. He was apprenticed to Edmund Boddington on 7 March 1738 and turned over the same day to the London silversmith, Peter Archambo. He became free of the Goldsmiths’ Company and entered his first mark from an address in Piccadilly on 12 June 1745. Later trading from his shop, the King’s Arms in New Bond Street, opposite Clifford Street, he was appointed Principal Goldsmith to George III in 1760. He held this appointment, during which he supplied silver to the Jewel House to the value of about £6,000 per annum, until 1782 when he was ‘exposed’ for overcharging.

When Heming retired in the early 1780s the business passed to his son, George (d. 1807), who had been born at Ludlow on 18 October 1735. Meanwhile, Thomas repaired to his ‘country seat near Uxbridge,’ the Manor House at Hillingdon, where he died at the age of 78 on 9 April 1801. Father and son were buried in the churchyard of St. John the Baptist, Hillingdon, where memorial plaques to both were erected inside the church.