MAKER'S MARK OF JOHN SAMUEL HUNT, LONDON, THE LARGEST, 1846, THE TWO SMALLER 1845 AND 1848, TWO APPLIED COATS-OF-ARMS, 1849

These magnificent vases would appear to have been commissioned by Louis-Philippe on his arrival in England. They would have been recorded in the inventory made on his death (Archives Nationales, Paris, 300 AP IV 118) and in his will (Archives du Palais Royal, Brussels, Fonds Leopold 1er, no. 586) which dictated that his porcelain, jewels, and plate go to his widow and then, on her death, to be divided up amongst the children. The grand form of these sculptural vases displays the virtuosity of the casting and chasing of the mid-nineteenth century silversmiths, particularly John S. Hunt, who also made a magnificent pair of candelabra which bear the same arms as the present lot and were sold at Christie's London, 31 March 1998, lot 56.