A George II silver basket, Paul Crespin London, 1746

circular, in simulated raffia with arched sides and torsed handle, the center engraved with entwined C's under earl's coronet, marked on base and engraved N.2, 62=9. Together with sixteen ceramic pears. 17 pieces.

This basket belongs to an important group of silver by Crespin for Henry, 2^nd Earl of Rochester and 4^th Earl of Clarendon (1672-1753), made between 1746 and 1749.  The group also included two gilt cups and covers, a shell-shaped shaving dish, four waiters, six double spice boxes with ten spoons (sold Christie’s, London, December 1, 2004, lots 700, 702-704) and four candlesticks (sold Christie’s, New York, May 17, 2012, lot 142).  While the Earl was not young, he still retained his residence at no. 15, St. James Square. 

The commission was probably done with an eye towards the political career of his son and heir Henry, Viscount Cornbury.  After flirting with Jacobite conspiracies in the early 1730s, the Viscount married in 1737 Frances Lee, daughter of George, 2^nd Earl of Lichfield.  The same year, he was elected M.P. for Oxford University, a position he held until 1750, when a writ in acceleration on his father’s title of Baron Hyde allowed him a seat in the House of Lords.  However, Henry died in Paris in 1753 and his father six months later; much of the Crespin silver passed to the Earl’s granddaughter Charlotte, whose husband Thomas Villiers was made Earl of Clarendon of the second creation in 1776.

engraving rubbed and interior with light wear from use, overall good condition
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