A MASSIVE REGENCY SILVER-GILT SIX-LIGHT CENTERPIECE OF IRISH INTEREST, PAUL STORR FOR STORR & CO., RETAILED BY RUNDELL, BRIDGE & RUNDELL, LONDON, 1811 |

the massive triform base on double paw supports flanked by stylised foliage and below a later engraved presentation inscription, monogram and two coats-of-arms, the central leaf-fluted column flanked by three seated satyrs playing pan pipes below six detachable branches, complete with detachable nozzles, central screw-in dish

Purchased by the husband of the consignor from an Irish castle in the 1970s

one branch not marked (tip probably replaced), otherwise original, the section below central bowl marked by Benjamin Smith II maker's mark only twice, the applied masks are not marked but are dot numbered and stamped with 515, otherwise fully marked and numbered throughout minor repairs to base of branches as noted re: later presentation inscription otherwise good, exceptional weight and well modeled, crisp detail and chasing
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.

This model of triform centerpiece with piping satyrs seems to have been first made in 1809 for the Prince Regent.  A pair still in the Royal Collection were invoiced as “a very large and superb Ornament for Center of the Table,” for an astonishing £2,017 16s.  In 1816 their centers were changed to form the bases for John Flaxman’s “Apples of the Hesperides” and “Bacchus and the Nyphys of Nysa” candelabra; the composite pieces are among the most impressive elements from the Prince’s Grand Service of silver-gilt (see Royal Treasures: A Golden Jubilee Celebration, no. 181, pp. 260-61).  Another version of the triform centerpiece, also of 1809 but with a simplified base, was in the Audrey Love collection (see Anthony Phillips and Jeanne Sloane, Antiquity Revisited: English and French Silver-gilt, no. 4). The figures of saytrs were probably modeled by sculptor William Theed II, a member of the Royal Academy.  Starting as a modeler in 1804, he oversaw the design studio at Rundell’s, before the addition of Edward Hodges Bailey in 1815.  When Rundell’s Dean Street workshop  - premises of Storr & Company - was set up in 1807, Storr probably lived in the house at the front of the workshops, and Theed was given the house immediately next door.  In 1811, the year of the offered centerpiece, Joseph Farington visited Theed in Dean Street, “he showed me several of his models: Candelabrums for the Prince of Wales & other works and described the great scale on which Rundell & Bridge carry on their works.”

The model for the satyrs may have been a Renaissance bronze.  Andrea Riccio (1470-1532), working in Padua, and his followers produced a series of seated figures with legs outstretched, holding pan pipes.  Described as shepherds or fauns, examples are in the Louvre, the Ashmolean, the Walters Art Museum, and the Quentin Foundation.  Some examples are deliberately finished to emulate ancient Roman bronzes, an additional appeal as Theed, Storr, and Rundell’s worked to recreate Roman grandeur for their aristocratic English clients.

The later inscription reads: ‘Presented to The Rt. Hon. Sir Daniel Dixon Bart. D.L. June. 1904 / Mayor of Belfast, 1892 and Lord Mayor, 1893, 1901, 1902 and 1903 / in Recognition of his able Administration of Office, during those Eventful Periods.’

Sir Daniel Dixon, 1^st Bt. of Ballymenock was an Irish businessman and politician. He was born on 28 March 1844, the son of Thomas Dixon of Larne, County Antrim, a timber merchant and shipowner, and his wife, Sarah. He became a partner in his father’s business, Thomas Dixon & Sons in 1864. Having served as Mayor of Belfast in 1892 he went on to be Lord Mayor of that City in 1893 and again from 1901 to 1903. He was created a baronet in October 1903 and from 1905 to 1907 he stood as Member of Parliament for Belfast North as an Ulster Unionist. Dixon died on 10 March 1907 when he was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son, Thomas.

The presentation of this centrepiece, together with a pair of George IV wine coolers and an illuminated address, took place in the Council Chamber of Belfast Town Hall on Monday, 30 May 1904. The Earl of Shaftesbury, Lord Lieutenant of Belfast and Chairman of the Executive Committee for the Daniel Dixon presentation, presided over the proceedings, which was very well attended by a large body of subscribers and well-wishers.

According to a full report of the event in the Belfast News-Letter (Belfast, Tuesday, 31 May 1904, p. 8), the centrepiece, which was ‘just 100 years old [and] probably the handsomest single piece of silverware ever seen in Belfast,’ had been supplied by of the city’s principal retail goldsmiths, Sharman D. Neill of Donegall Place. The report further stated that the ‘three exquisitely-modelled figures’ surrounding the central column of the centrepiece ‘represent Vertumnus, who, in ancient mythologies, was supposed to exert his influence on the growth of the fruit of the earth, and to whom were made votive offerings of fruit and flowers.’ The value of the entire presentation was £1,000.