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Koopman Rare Art
Paul Storr
The Lonsdale Candelabra
Silver
London, 1816
Weight: 18654gr., 599oz. 15dwt. Height: 80cm., 31 1/2 in. high
description
In Louis XVI style, the stems with addorsed female terms above domed bases and below urns with flame finials, acanthus branches, the bases engraved with arms, the flame finials with crests and mottos, base rims stamped: 'RUNDELL BRIDGE ET RUNDELL AURIFICES REGIS ET PRINCIPIS WALLIÆ REGENTIS BRITANNIAS'.
This exceptional pair of candlesticks, of evident French taste in Louis XVI style, were modelled by Paul Storr following the example of those made by Joseph auguste for the Hanoverian service commissioned by George III.
The 1st Earl of Lonsdale Candelabra by Paul Storr
A sovereign with a collection as sublime as that of George III would undoubtedly have influenced English fashion and the acquisitions of the noble families of the time who not only would have wished to emulate his style but rather surpass the king's commissions in grandeur to elevate their social status. James Lowther commissioned these candlesticks in exceptionally larger dimensions than the king's service. The candelabra of the Hanoverian service, now partially in the Louvre in Paris and partially in the Rothchild collection, measure 55 cm (21 in) in height, while those present measure a good 80 cm (31 1/2 in).
The first earl of Lonsdale was, in fact, a patron of the arts and an insatiable silver collector whose desire to surpass the king's possessions in luxury is evidenced by the fact that he purchased one of the five famous Shields of Achilles, which is currently National Trust at Anglesey Abbey.
The arms are those of Lowther for Sir William Lowther, 2nd Bt. of Little Preston, eldest son of the Rev. Sir William Lowther, 1st Bt. (1707-1788), who was created 2nd Viscount Lowther in 1802. In 1807, at the age of fifty, he was further elevated as 1stEarl of Lonsdale and appointed a Knight of the Garter.
The sale at Christie, Manson & Woods Ltd. in February 1947, which included many examples of silver from the Earl’s collection, suggests that he was familiar with silver from Paul Storr’s various workshops. Two items, a pair of sauce tureens and a hot water jug on lampstand with burner, hallmarked respectively 1798 and 1805, were made when Storr was working as an independent manufacturer to the trade. The Earl added many other such items to his collection between 1809 and 1817, including the present pair of candelabra, a period when Storr was a partner in and superintendent of the royal goldsmiths, Rundell, Bridge & Rundell’s factory in Dean Street, Soho.
The 1947 sale at Christie’s also included a pair of Thomas Heming candelabra, London, 1771 (lot 200) whose design was the pattern for the present Storr/Rundell, Bridge & Rundell examples. The design of these appears to have been loosely based on the caryatid stems of near-contemporary candlesticks made in Paris, examples of which, Robert-Joseph Auguste, 1767/68, are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.1 Presumably, the Heming pair had been purchased by the Earl of Lonsdale’s father, which might by 1816 have seemed a little old fashioned were it not for the then current revival of interest in old plate.
Collectors, like Horace Walpole of Strawberry Hill, of quaint or intriguing examples of ‘antique’ or ‘second-hand’ silver had been purchasers of such pieces since the 1760s/1770s. By 1800 this interest had become firmly established among wealthy and aristocratic buyers, with the result that soon afterwards the most fashionable London goldsmiths began making new silver as direct copies of or inspired by old objects. Foremost among these firms were Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, Garrard’s and the Duke of York’s silversmith, Kensington Lewis (1790-1854). The latter, an opportunist whose talent for self-publicity was well developed, encouraged the working silversmith Edward Farrell (1774-1850) to produce some of the most exaggerated examples then available of silver and silver-gilt in the old styles. By contrast, Rundell’s and Garrard’s explorations in the same vein were rather more restrained. While Garrard’s went on to produce impressive silver based on grand Régence styles, Rundell’s silver designs became increasingly influenced by the rococo revival and naturalistic forms.
The 1st Earl of Lonsdale was also a collector of old silver. He is known to have purchased from Rundell’s a silver-gilt caddinet, maker’s mark of Anthony Nelme, London, 1688, which had been made for William III and Mary II. This rare survival had been purchased in 1808 by Rundell’s as part of 2,656 ounces of old plate disposed of by the Jewel House to defray the expenses of George, Prince of Wales’s new silver service.2
In 1802 Lonsdale inherited the fortune, estates, and lesser titles of his relative James Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale of the first creation. With his enormous assets, he remodelled Lowther Castle as a Regency showplace, and became one of the great patrons of silver in the period, buying for himself models also produced for the Prince Regent and his brother the Duke of York. In the mid 20th century, death duties forced the then Earl of Lonsdale to abandon Lowther Castle, and to sell much of the family plate at auction. When these candelabra were sold in 1947, the price achieved was more than that for the famous Shield of Achilles in the same sale, which sold for £520.
Notes
1. Bequest of Catherine D. Wentworth, 1948. Accession Number: 48.187.389a, b
2. Jane Roberts, editor, Royal Treasures, A Golden Jubilee Celebration, London, 2002, p. 256, no. 176)
This exceptional pair of candlesticks, of evident French taste in Louis XVI style, were modelled by Paul Storr following the example of those made by Joseph auguste for the Hanoverian service commissioned by George III.
The 1st Earl of Lonsdale Candelabra by Paul Storr
A sovereign with a collection as sublime as that of George III would undoubtedly have influenced English fashion and the acquisitions of the noble families of the time who not only would have wished to emulate his style but rather surpass the king's commissions in grandeur to elevate their social status. James Lowther commissioned these candlesticks in exceptionally larger dimensions than the king's service. The candelabra of the Hanoverian service, now partially in the Louvre in Paris and partially in the Rothchild collection, measure 55 cm (21 in) in height, while those present measure a good 80 cm (31 1/2 in).
The first earl of Lonsdale was, in fact, a patron of the arts and an insatiable silver collector whose desire to surpass the king's possessions in luxury is evidenced by the fact that he purchased one of the five famous Shields of Achilles, which is currently National Trust at Anglesey Abbey.
The arms are those of Lowther for Sir William Lowther, 2nd Bt. of Little Preston, eldest son of the Rev. Sir William Lowther, 1st Bt. (1707-1788), who was created 2nd Viscount Lowther in 1802. In 1807, at the age of fifty, he was further elevated as 1stEarl of Lonsdale and appointed a Knight of the Garter.
The sale at Christie, Manson & Woods Ltd. in February 1947, which included many examples of silver from the Earl’s collection, suggests that he was familiar with silver from Paul Storr’s various workshops. Two items, a pair of sauce tureens and a hot water jug on lampstand with burner, hallmarked respectively 1798 and 1805, were made when Storr was working as an independent manufacturer to the trade. The Earl added many other such items to his collection between 1809 and 1817, including the present pair of candelabra, a period when Storr was a partner in and superintendent of the royal goldsmiths, Rundell, Bridge & Rundell’s factory in Dean Street, Soho.
The 1947 sale at Christie’s also included a pair of Thomas Heming candelabra, London, 1771 (lot 200) whose design was the pattern for the present Storr/Rundell, Bridge & Rundell examples. The design of these appears to have been loosely based on the caryatid stems of near-contemporary candlesticks made in Paris, examples of which, Robert-Joseph Auguste, 1767/68, are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.1 Presumably, the Heming pair had been purchased by the Earl of Lonsdale’s father, which might by 1816 have seemed a little old fashioned were it not for the then current revival of interest in old plate.
Collectors, like Horace Walpole of Strawberry Hill, of quaint or intriguing examples of ‘antique’ or ‘second-hand’ silver had been purchasers of such pieces since the 1760s/1770s. By 1800 this interest had become firmly established among wealthy and aristocratic buyers, with the result that soon afterwards the most fashionable London goldsmiths began making new silver as direct copies of or inspired by old objects. Foremost among these firms were Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, Garrard’s and the Duke of York’s silversmith, Kensington Lewis (1790-1854). The latter, an opportunist whose talent for self-publicity was well developed, encouraged the working silversmith Edward Farrell (1774-1850) to produce some of the most exaggerated examples then available of silver and silver-gilt in the old styles. By contrast, Rundell’s and Garrard’s explorations in the same vein were rather more restrained. While Garrard’s went on to produce impressive silver based on grand Régence styles, Rundell’s silver designs became increasingly influenced by the rococo revival and naturalistic forms.
The 1st Earl of Lonsdale was also a collector of old silver. He is known to have purchased from Rundell’s a silver-gilt caddinet, maker’s mark of Anthony Nelme, London, 1688, which had been made for William III and Mary II. This rare survival had been purchased in 1808 by Rundell’s as part of 2,656 ounces of old plate disposed of by the Jewel House to defray the expenses of George, Prince of Wales’s new silver service.2
In 1802 Lonsdale inherited the fortune, estates, and lesser titles of his relative James Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale of the first creation. With his enormous assets, he remodelled Lowther Castle as a Regency showplace, and became one of the great patrons of silver in the period, buying for himself models also produced for the Prince Regent and his brother the Duke of York. In the mid 20th century, death duties forced the then Earl of Lonsdale to abandon Lowther Castle, and to sell much of the family plate at auction. When these candelabra were sold in 1947, the price achieved was more than that for the famous Shield of Achilles in the same sale, which sold for £520.
Notes
1. Bequest of Catherine D. Wentworth, 1948. Accession Number: 48.187.389a, b
2. Jane Roberts, editor, Royal Treasures, A Golden Jubilee Celebration, London, 2002, p. 256, no. 176)
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