A CHARLES II SILVER-GILT TWO-HANDLED DISH, MAKER'S MARK WW, A FLEUR DE LYS BETWEEN TWO PELLETS BELOW, ATTRIBUTED TO WILLIAM WAKEFIELD, LONDON, 1668 |

oval, the body richly pierced and chased with large stylised tulips, daffodils, cornflowers and other blooms and matted foliage around a central embossed and chased plaque of Lot and his Daughters with the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah burning in the distance, the narrow border chased with auricular motifs and foliage and applied with two richly decorated cast handles, on four claw-and-ball feet, in contemporary fitted tooled leather case with brass handle and two swivel clasps

The Trustees of the Swinton Settled Estates, Christie's, London, 26 November 1975, lot 174, where purchased by a member of the family.

English Domestic Silver, Temple Newsam House, 1959, no.27

Charles Oman, Caroline Silver, London, 1970, pl. 45
David M. Mitchell, Silversmiths in Elizabethan and Stuart London, London, 2017, p. 603

Hallmarks to rim by one handle clearly struck and legible. Orignally perhaps had four handles. There are four holes in the rim spread (top, bottom, left, right) which possibly prefviously held floral bosses.The gilding probably executed in the 19th century and overlaying several old repairs to the rear of the body. The case is in very good order for its age with some scuffs to the leather and one of the two hinges in working order. A rare object and survivor nonetheless.
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Although the provenance of this dish is uncertain before the Christies sale in 1975 it is possible it was acquired by the distinguished inventor and art collector Samuel Cunliffe Lister, 1st Baron Masham (1815-1906). He became one of Yorkshire’s most prominent industrialists through his reform of the textile industry and provision of thousands of jobs at Lister Mills, one of the largest silk factories in the world. His entrepreneurship and industry made him a multi-millionaire and his philanthropy helped change the identity of the region. In 1883 he purchased Swinton Park, with nearly 25,000 acres of land, from the Danby family, whose seat it had remained since the late 17th century when it was built by Sir Abstrupus Danby in 1695. Following Samuel Cunliffe-Lister’s death his granddaughter Mary Boynton and her husband Philip Lloyd-Greame came to live at Swinton in 1924 and adopted the Cunliffe-Lister surname. Philip, who held various positions in the Conservative government including Secretary of State for the Air and the Colonies, was created Viscount Swinton in 1935 and the 1st Earl of Swinton in 1955.

As the gilding of the dish appears to have been executed in the early 19th century it is more likely it was acquired by Samuel second-hand from one of the leading retailer silversmiths of the period, rather than inherited from the previous owners of Swinton Park. The nature and use of these dishes, sometimes referred to as Layette baskets, relates strongly to Samuel’s involvement in the textile industry. An imported concept from Holland in the mid-17th century, such baskets were used to deliver linen to a newborn child.

The design and workmanship of this basket is typical of English Restoration silver at its most flamboyant. After years of austerity under Cromwell, the arrival in England of Charles II in 1660 provoked an unprecedented period of activity in the fine and decorative arts. The transition from grave severity to extravagant luxury was swift and emphatic. In the field of precious metals, the banker goldsmiths of London and the working silversmiths who supplied them were called upon by the King, his court and the wealthy fashion-conscious to produce some of the most remarkable pieces of plate ever made in this country.

This basket, while it does not compare with Charles’s suites of silver furniture and the like, nevertheless was made to reflect its original owner’s wealth and sophistication. It no doubt formed part of a collection of such silver objects, made to decorate, to dazzle on a candle-lit buffet or sideboard: the perfect accompaniment to a host’s generosity in entertaining. In fact, the biblical scene at the centre of the basket is an allegory: the essential theme of the story of Lot is one of hospitality and the honouring of guests. This particular scene takes after a German engraving by Heinrich Aldegrever in 1555. (Fig. 1)

For the attribution of this maker's mark to William Wakefield, see David M. Mitchell, Silversmiths in Elizabethan and Stuart London, London, 2017, pp. 603-605. Dr. Mitchell lists a number of other items bearing Wakefield's mark, hallmarked between 1666 and 1678, including the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths' bell of 1666/67. The latter, which was presented to the Company by Sir Robert Vyner (1631-1688), the banker goldsmith, for which Paul de Lamerie was commissioned in 1741 to furnish an inkstand. 

Although no firm date for William Wakefield's death has been established, Dr. Mitchell suggests that he may have died about 1677, his widow, Frances being described as his 'relict and administratrix' on 21 February that year (Mitchell, p. 605). The only London burial discovered so far for a William Wakefield about this date is one in 1676 in the Bedlam Burial Ground, the site of which now lies under Liverpool Street Station.