A RARE PAIR OF AMERICAN SILVER BOTTLE STANDS, MYER MYERS, NEW YORK, CIRCA 1765

each circular with scrolling openwork fret sawn sides centering on a solid cartouche monogrammed SSC, fitted with turned wooden bases.

Samuel Cornell (1731-1781) and Susannah Mabson (1732-1778), to their daughter
Sarah (1762-1803), m. 1792 Matthew Clarkson, to their daughter
Mary Rutherford Clarkson (1786-1838), m. 1807 Peter Augustus Jay, son of John Jay, to her sister
Elizabeth Clarkson (1793-1820), unmarried, to her niece
Susan Matilda Jay (1829-1910), m. 1852 Matthew Clarkson, to their son
Banyer Clarkson (1854-1928), to his first cousin
Anna Jay Pierrepont (1861-1940), to her nephew
Rutherford Stuyvesant Pierrepont (1883-1950), to his son
John Pierrepont (b. 1917), to his son
John Jay Pierrepont (b. 1958), sold
Christie's New York, January 27, 1996, lot 125

New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Art from American Collections,  March 6 - April 28, 1963
New York: Museum of the City of New York, 1976-1989
Myer Myers 2001 no. 80
SAM American Sampler 2002-2005

James Biddle, American Art from American Collections, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1963, p. 58, figs. 120-121
Morrison H. Heckscher and Leslie Greene Bowman, American Rococo, 1750-1775: Elegance in Ornament. Abrams, New York, 1992, p. 122

green cloth underneath bases with wear and losses, 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 rococo silver made by Myers for Samuel Cornell is perhaps his most important group made for a single patron.  While a cann at the Wadsworth Atheneum may have been acquired on Cornell's marriage in 1756, the other four pieces, elaborately pierced and engraved, are from the early 1770s and evoke the luxury the couple enjoyed before the Revolution.  Together with an almost identical pair made by Myers for the Schuyler family (New York Historical Society), these are the only known American Colonial wine coasters.

Samuel Cornell was born in Flushing, Long Island, to Quaker parents, and moved in the mid 1750s to North Carolina.  He married in 1756 Susannah Mabson of New Bern.  Over the next decade, overseas and "triangular" trade made Cornell the richest man in North Carolina.  In 1768, Governor William Tryon borrowed £8,000 for the construction of his magnificent Tryon Palace.  In 1770, the Governor appointed Cornell to the Royal Council, and in 1771 Cornell loaned an additional £6,000 to support the Governor's troops against rebels in the western part of the state. 

Cornell's possessions included a house in New Bern, two plantations on the Trent River, a rum distillery, and warehouses, together valued at £40,976 in 1784.  As the political situation deteriorated in 1775, Cornell requested a leave of absence from the Council to go to England; he was described by Governor Martin as "the most opulent Merchant in [North Carolina].  From England he went to New York, securely held by the British. 

In December of 1777 Cornell sailed to New Bern under a flag of truce.  Although first denied permission to land by the Provincial Assembly, the Revolutionary Governor Caswell later allowed him ashore to collect his goods, servants, and family, for return to New York.  Cornell deeded his property to his daughters, but it was still seized under the 1779 Confiscation Act. His effects were divided equally between his five daughters, with these coasters falling to his third daughter, Sarah.  She later married Matthew Clarkson, a celebrated officer on the American side of the Revolution.