A GEORGE II SILVER CREAM OR SAUCE BOAT, LAWRENCE JOHNSON, LONDON, 1751 |

on cast rococo base, the boat-shaped body embossed and chased with a broad scroll cartouche on either sides enclosing landscapes with ruins each inhabited by a goat, stylized ruffles and foliage and the lip, cast double scroll handle, engraved at a later date below the lip with a crest

Mary Cooke, London, 4 August 2000

Clearly marked in underside of base. Most probably cast in two-parts and then chased to finish. Nice gauge. The crest probably slightly later. The interior with visible seam and light pitting throughout. Good condition.
"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."

Silver bearing Lawrence Johnson’s mark is most uncommon; among the very few other items recorded are a pair of rococo pattern candlesticks, 1752 (Phillips, London, 4 November 1994, lot 115) and a taperstick, 1754. Grimwade (p. 562) notes that Johnson entered his first mark as a largeworker from Catherine Street (in the parish of St. Paul, Covent Garden) on 3 April 1751 and his second on 22 August 1752. Ambrose Heal, who quotes from one of Johnson’s elaborately engraved trade cards in his collection at the British Museum, enlarges on this information: ‘Lawrence Johnson Working Goldsmith, at the Corner of Exeter Street, in Katherine Street, Near the Strand, London. Makes & Sells all Sorts of Plate, in the Newest Fashion, at the most Reasonable Rate. Likewise Buys, & Sells, all Sorts of Second hand Plate, Watches, Jewells &c’. This trade card, with its rococo cartouche inhabited by a diminutive Hermes and other boys is also illustrated with various items from Johnson’s stock: candlesticks, a kettle on stand, a tureen and cover, a sauceboat, a cup and cover, two tankards and other items.

Although no other firm information is at present available about Johnson’s life and work, the intriguing possibility is that before he opened a retail shop he was a working chaser. On 19 January 1751 an apprentice called John Rogers petitioned the Middlesex Magistrates to end his apprenticeship with ‘Lawrence Johnson of the Parish of Saint Paul Covent Garden . . . Chaser.’ Rogers’s grounds for such a request arose because ‘He has Constantly made it his Business Most Inhumanely to beat and Abuse [me] without any Justificable [sic] reason or provocation given him And has frequently Threatned [sic] to Murther [me] And gave Out in Speeches That unless [I] quitted his Service he wod. be the death of [me].’ Several persons were examined but Rogers’s complaint was ignored and his petition dismissed. (London Metropolitan Archives, LMSMPS504080014)