Silver Preview: Jewellery, Watches & Silver Sale 14th September

The Silver section of the 14^th September Jewellery, Watches and Silver Sale includes almost 180, lots ranging in date from the very beginning of the 18^th century through to the 21^st century.

A Queen Anne Silver Mug, by Edward Yorke, London, 1709 (estimate: £400-600 plus buyer’s premium)

Notable earlier pieces include a Queen Anne Mug by Edward Yorke, London, 1709. Yorke was born in Wiltshire and was to apprentice to John Bayly and later William Fawdery, before gaining his freedom in 1701.

A Pair of Elizabeth II Scottish Silver Stirrup Cups, by Hamilton and Inches, Edinburgh, 2005 (estimate: £700-1,000 plus buyer’s premium)

A Zimbabwean Silver Belt Buckle, by Patrick Mavros, Harare, Dated 2015 (estimate: £150-250 plus buyer's premium)

The later pieces in the sale include a pair of Scottish Stirrup Cups by Hamilton and Inches of remarkable quality, each cast with the head of a pheasant, and a Zimbabwean Silver Belt Buckle by Patrick Mavros, dated 2015.

A Set of Five Elizabeth II Silver Stirrup-Cups, by Richard Comyns, London, 1970 (estimate: £1,500-2,500 plus buyer’s premium)

An Elizabeth II Silver Model of a Fox, by C. J. Vander Ltd., Sheffield, 1993 (estimate: £500-800 plus buyer’s premium)

Further animal related items include a Set of Five Stirrup Cups by Richard Comyns and a Silver Model of a Fox by C.J. Vander Ltd., both once owned by the Late Captain Edward Cazenove (1923-2000) a devoted hunter and art collector.  Captain Edward "Teddy" Cazenove was born on 11 June 1923. He was brought up by his New York-born mother, Edith, at the family house of Cottesbrooke in Northamptonshire. Cazenove was educated at Eton and Oxford, where he took every chance he could to hunt. Shortly after graduating from Oxford, he joined the Army and served diligently throughout the Second World War. He was taken prisoner in France in 1944 and was wounded attempting to escape. After the war, instead of following in his father's footsteps and joining the family firm of stockbrokers, which had been established in the 1820s, Cazenove chose to do what he loved best. He settled in Pytchley, Northamptonshire, to hunt. Highly skilled and consistently enthusiastic, Cazenove became Master of hunts in England, Scotland and Ireland. He died aged 77 in 2000.

A German Silver Tankard, by Sy and Wagner, Berlin, Circa 1863 (estimate: £2,000-3,000 plus buyer’s premium)

Another fascinating lot in the sale is a German Silver Tankard. It was made by the German silversmiths Sy and Wagner who were working in Berlin from the middle of the 19^th century. François Jeremie Sy and Emil August Albert Wagner were silversmiths of considerable talent who began working in partnership around 1859. The firm continued operating until the beginning of the First World War. They were known to have a following among the Royal courts of Europe, particularly in Germany. Among their extant works is a massive tankard and stand that was presented on the occasion of the marriage of Prince William of Prussia to Princess Auguste Victoria of Schleswig Holstein in 1881 by the Province of Saxony. Together the tankard and stand weighed some 750 troy ounces, and the tankard was to remain in the family of the former Kings of Prussia until it was sold in 1954, appearing again in 2009 (Christie’s, London, 2 June 2009, lot 155). This patronage by royalty would have appealed to other consumers, and so it was not surprising that the officers of the Kürassier-Regiment would have gone to them to produce a tankard to commemorate 50 years of service with the regiment by Lieutenant General Louis von Mutius. Von Mutius was born in Oels in Silesia, now known as Oleśnica in modern-day Poland. He would seem to have had a successful career being promoted and decorated through his career. The tankard offered here is finely cast and chased on three sides with Gothic style tracery niches. The first of these is applied with the coat-of-arms of von Mutius below an applied parcel-gilt Iron Cross, the other two niches are each applied with a cast figure of a soldier of the Kürassier-Regiment, the first depicted in the uniform of 1813 and the second that of 1863 each above the engraved date. This is highlighted with chased acorns and oak leaves centring an inscription on the base and finally with a cast depiction of the Prussian Waterloo memorial on the cover.  To commemorate the presentation, a plaque inside the cover is engraved with various names. Weighing over 55 troy ounces and measuring some 37cm high the tankard is offered with an estimate of £2,000-3,000 (plus buyer’s premium).

A Pair of Gold Lorgnettes, Apparently Unmarked, Probably First Quarter 20th Century (estimate: £600-800 plus buyer’s premium)

A Dunhill Silver Plate and Lucite 'Aquarium' Table-Lighter (estimate: £700-1,000 plus buyer’s premium)

As ever, the Objects of Vertu included in sale offer a diverse assortment of items - everything from gold, such as a Pair of 18ct Gold Lorgnettes probably of American manufacture, to Lucite in the form of a charming Dunhill ‘Aquarium’ Table Lighter that is decorated with three fish in a seascape, designed to appear as if swimming in an aquarium.

A Montblanc Writer's Edition Fyodor Dostoevsky Ballpoint-Pen, The Cap Numbered 6418/8000 (estimate: £150-250 plus buyer’s premium)

A Montblanc Special Edition John Lennon Fountain-Pen, Numbered KW2212702 (estimate: £400-600 plus buyer’s premium)

Two Montblanc Ramses II Silver-Gilt, Gilt-Metal and Lapis Lazuli Ballpoint-Pens, The Clips Numbered GM104119 and IM102758 (estimate: £300-500 plus buyer’s premium)

Perhaps the strongest section in this part of the sale is a remarkable group of writing instruments, mostly by Montblanc. Montblanc was founded in Berlin in 1906 and is perhaps the most celebrated name in the production of luxury pens. Amongst the interesting examples offered in the sale are a Writer’s Edition Fyodor Dostoevsky Ballpoint Pen, a Special Edition John Lennon Fountain Pen and Two Montblanc Ramses II Silver-Gilt, Gilt-Metal and Lapis Lazuli Ballpoint Pens.

A Montegrappa Silver-Mounted Extra 1930 Ballpoint-Pen, The Silver Mounts with Maker's Mark 1140MI

A Cartier Silver and Blue Glass Paperweight, Signed 'Cartier', Reference Number T1311011

Also included are pens by Montegrappa, such as a Silver-Mounted Extra 1930 Ballpoint Pen as well as pens and other luxury accessories by Cartier, including a Silver and Blue Glass Paperweight, modelled as a cast panther bounding on a blue glass ball and sold in its original gilt-tooled red leather-covered case.  

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