Dining IN | London
Dining IN | London
A GEORGE III SILVER-GILT DESSERT SERVICE, GEORGE SMITH III, LONDON, CIRCA 1775
Lot Closed
August 12, 01:29 PM GMT
Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
A GEORGE III SILVER-GILT DESSERT SERVICE, GEORGE SMITH III, LONDON, CIRCA 1775
Fiddle-thread pattern, crested, comprising: 24 spoons, 24 forks, 24 knives with silver-gilt blades, and 6 serving spoons, the knives maker’s mark W.S, one knife blade Francis Higgins, London 1899, fitted brass-mounted wood case
the case 50cm x 33.5cm; 20in x 13in
4232gr, 136oz
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George Smith III was apprenticed to Thomas Chawner in 1765 ‘to learn the art of the spoon maker..’ and became so successful that ‘..a very high percentage of the surviving flat-ware of the years 1775-1790 bears the mark of this maker…’ (Arthur Grimwade, London Goldsmiths…, London 1976, p. 663).
The crest is that of the Earls of Zetland (Shetland), for Lawrence Dundas, created first earl on the accession of Queen Victoria in recognition of the financial help he had given her parents the Duke and Duchess of Kent. Dundas wealth had been greatly augmented by his grandfather Sir Lawrence, 1st baronet who amongst many successful occupations was Commissary General supplying goods to the British Army during their campaigns against the Jacobites and in Flanders during the Seven-years-war of 1756-1763.