A Pair of George III Silver-Gilt Wine Coolers, Maker's Mark IP in Oval, Probably Joseph Preedy, London, 1802

Sotheby's, New York, 12 October 1990, lot 267

The crest is that of Amherst under a baron's coronet for William Pitt Amherst, 2nd Baron Amherst of Montreal and later 1st Earl Amherst. He was the son of William Amherst, Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland, and nephew of the 1st Baron Amherst of Montreal, Field Marshall Sir Jeffery Amherst, K.B., P.C., who earned fame as Commander in Chief in North America with the taking of Louisburg, Niagara, Ticonderoga, Quebec, and Montreal; on his death in 1797 the barony devolved upon William.

Born in 1773 at Bath, he attended Christ Church, Oxford, was Envoy to the Court of Naples 1809-11, member of the Privy Council 1815, and Lord of the Bedchamber 1804-13, 1815-23, and 1829-35. He was appointed ambassador to China in 1816 but was refused admission, and later served as governor-general of Bengal 1822-28. In 1826 he was created Earl Amherst, and in 1835 he was named Governor of Canada but this was cancelled by the succeeding government.

He married 1stly in 1800 Sarah, relict of Other Hickman, 5th Earl of Plymouth, and 2ndly in 1839 Mary, relict of Other Archer, 6th Earl of Plymouth, and daughter of the 3rd Duke of Dorset; she inherited Knole from her brother, the 4th Duke. Lord Amherst died in 1857.

This very sculptural model of wine cooler combines elements from a variety of sources. The figures of Bacchus and Silenus are probably taken from Bernard de Montfaucon's L'Antiquitié Expliquée et Representée, published in Paris 1719 / 24. The small putti are drawn from the designs of Lady Elizabeth Templetown (1747-1823), an amateur artist commissioned by Wedgwood and Bentley to provide designs between 1783 and 1789. The dancing figure with a tambourine is taken from an antique intaglio in the Marlborough gems, published in 1788 in Gemma Marlboroughiana and also produced as a basalt-ware intaglio by Wedgwood before 1798.

A pair of coolers of this model, on stands, marked by Joseph Preedy's former partner William Pitts, 1806, was in the collection of the Duke of Cumberland, later King of Hanover, and were sold Sotheby's, New York, 21 October 1997, lot 184.