AN IMPORTANT CHARLES II SILVER-GILT TOILET SERVICE

Lot 14
06.07.2023 12:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Starting price
£ 100 000
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 992782
Lot 14 | AN IMPORTANT CHARLES II SILVER-GILT TOILET SERVICE
Estimate value
£ 100 000 – 150 000
AN IMPORTANT CHARLES II SILVER-GILT TOILET SERVICE

UNMARKED, CIRCA 1670

Chased with mythological scenes, the flasks with landscapes, with borders of fruiting garlands and female masks, the tazza with moulded border, comprising:



An octagonal tazza, chased with a scene of Aeneas rescuing his father Anchises and his son Ascanius from burning Troy

8 1/8 in. (20.6 cm.) wide



A pair of large octagonal caskets, with differing scenes including Mercury playing the flute, Mercury slaying Argus, Jupiter pursuing Io, Jupiter with Io transformed into a cow watched by Juno, and Apollo and Daphne, later engraved underneath 'FROM BURGHLEY HOUSE'

6 in. (15.2 cm.) wide



A pair of octagonal boxes, each chased with the scene of a mother and child on the cover and figures in landscape on the sides,

3 7/8 in. (10 cm.) wide



A pair of gourd-shaped perfume flasks with landscapes,

5 in. (12.5 cm.) high



A jewellery casket, the cover with a pincushion, with scenes of hunters in pursuit of prey

8 3/8 in. (21.2 cm.) wide

gross weight 137 oz. 10 dwt. (4,279 gr.)





Provenance

John Cecil, 5th Earl of Exeter (1648–1700) of Burghley House, Stamford, presumably commissioned on the occasion of his marriage in 1670 to Lady Anne Cavendish, daughter of William Cavendish, 3rd Earl of Devonshire and widow of Charles Rich, Lord Rich, by descent to,

Brownlow Cecil 4th Marquess of Exeter (1849-1898), of Burghley House, Stamford,

Brownlow, 4th Marquess of Exeter, removed from Burghley House; Christie's, 7 June 1888. lots 49, 52, 53 (lot 49, the tazza £21 to Bowes, lot 52, the larger octagonal toilet boxes, £51 to Phillips, and lot 53, the pair of perfume flasks, £71 to Davis), the remaining pieces by descent to,

David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter (1905-1981), of Burghley House, Stamford,

The Marquess of Exeter; Christie's, London, 17 July 1959, lots 112 and 112a (the jewellery casket - £80 to Daavidson and the smaller octagonal toilet boxes - £58 to Rayman).

The larger pair of octagonal boxes subsequently; William Newall (1851-1922), collector and connoisseur,

William Newall Esq., deceased, late of Redheath, Croxley Green, Herts; Christie's, London, 27 June 1927, lot 272 (£91 to S. J. Phillips)

with S. J. Phillips, London.

Mrs. Davis Gubbay (1885-1968), by 1929,

Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 9 March 1988, lot 199.

The tazza subsequently; Anonymous sale Sotheby's, London, 30 April 1987, lot 117.

The service as offered here; A Canadian Collector; Christie's, New York, 21 April 1998, lot 255.



Literature

T. Blore et al. A Guide to Burghley House, Northamptonshire, the Seat of the Marquis of Exeter: containing a catalogue of all the paintings, antiquities, &c.: with biographical notices of the artists, 1815, p. 61, Queen Elizabeth's Bed Room, 'The toilette is set out with rich suit of dressing plate, embossed with history.'

Burghley House Mss., The Marquis of Exeter's Plate Book, May 8th 1824, 1824, 'Silver-Gilt Toilet Service State Plate'.

Burghley House Mss., The Marquis of Exeter's Plate Book, 1831, 1831, 'Silver Gilt Toilet Service State Plate'.

Burghley House Mss., R. & S. Garrard & Co., Description Inventory of Plate, the Property of The most Honble The Marquis of Exeter, Burghley Park, 1880, folio 77.

C. Hernmarck, The Art of the European Silversmith, London, vol. 1 p. 252, vol. II, p. 265, fig 703, the tazza.

M. Wrey ed. Christie's Review of the Season, London, 1998, p. 170.



Exhibited

London, 29 Park Lane, A Loan Exhibition of Old English Plate, 1929, no. 270, the pair of large octagonal boxes, Mrs. David Gubbay.



Special notice

This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.
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