.jpg?w=1)
ELEVEN WITH MARK OF JOHN MORTIMER AND JOHN SAMUEL HUNT, LONDON, 1840, ONE WITH MARK OF HOSSAUER, BERLIN, CIRCA 1840
Details
TWELVE SILVER-GILT DINNER-PLATES FROM THE DUKE OF BRUNSWICK SERVICE
ELEVEN WITH MARK OF JOHN MORTIMER AND JOHN SAMUEL HUNT, LONDON, 1840, ONE WITH MARK OF HOSSAUER, BERLIN, CIRCA 1840
Each circular, with applied border of scrolling acanthus and shells, applied with a coat-of-arms within the Garter motto and below a Princely crown, marked underneath, nine numbered '311', seven further stamped 'Mortimer & Hunt London', the German plate further stamped 'Hossauer Berlin 15 lothe'
10 ½ in. (27 cm.) diam.
246 oz. 2 dwt. (7,655 gr.)
The arms are those of Brunswick-Lüneburg for William, 8th Duke of Brunswick (1806-1884) who ruled the Duchy from 1830 to 1884. After their father's death in the Waterloo campaign of 1815, William and his elder brother Charles became the wards of their cousin George IV, King of England. As the second son of Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, William enlisted the Prussian army as a Major in 1823 while his brother reigned in the Duchy. However, following the rebellion that led to Charles's abdication in July 1830, William stepped in as Regent, only to declare himself Duke the next year. In 1831 he was appointed Knight of the Garter by his cousin William IV, King of England.
Despite leaving government business to his ministers and spending much of his time abroad, William managed to remain sovereign when the Duchy was annexed by Prussia in 1866, and again by the German Empire in 1871. As William was unmarried, it became clear that the senior branch of the House of Guelph would die with him. According to hereditary law, the House of Hanover should have ascended the ducal throne. However, there was strong Prussian opposition to the title passing to George V or his son the Duke of Cumberland because the Hanoverians had refused to accept the Prussian annexation of their kingdom.
Therefore on William's death in 1884 his title passed to Prince Albert of Prussia and then to John Albert, Duke of Mecklenburg, both of whom served as Regent. The crisis was finally resolved in 1913 when Ernest Augustus III, the son of the Duke of Cumberland, succeeded to the title after he married the Kaiser's daughter and swore allegiance to the German Empire. He reigned from 1913 to 1918, when he abdicated, leaving the state of Brunswick free to join the new Weimar Republic.
A set of twenty-four plates from the service were in the Van Cliburn collection and were sold Christie's, New York, 27 May 2012, lot 49.
ELEVEN WITH MARK OF JOHN MORTIMER AND JOHN SAMUEL HUNT, LONDON, 1840, ONE WITH MARK OF HOSSAUER, BERLIN, CIRCA 1840
Each circular, with applied border of scrolling acanthus and shells, applied with a coat-of-arms within the Garter motto and below a Princely crown, marked underneath, nine numbered '311', seven further stamped 'Mortimer & Hunt London', the German plate further stamped 'Hossauer Berlin 15 lothe'
10 ½ in. (27 cm.) diam.
246 oz. 2 dwt. (7,655 gr.)
The arms are those of Brunswick-Lüneburg for William, 8th Duke of Brunswick (1806-1884) who ruled the Duchy from 1830 to 1884. After their father's death in the Waterloo campaign of 1815, William and his elder brother Charles became the wards of their cousin George IV, King of England. As the second son of Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, William enlisted the Prussian army as a Major in 1823 while his brother reigned in the Duchy. However, following the rebellion that led to Charles's abdication in July 1830, William stepped in as Regent, only to declare himself Duke the next year. In 1831 he was appointed Knight of the Garter by his cousin William IV, King of England.
Despite leaving government business to his ministers and spending much of his time abroad, William managed to remain sovereign when the Duchy was annexed by Prussia in 1866, and again by the German Empire in 1871. As William was unmarried, it became clear that the senior branch of the House of Guelph would die with him. According to hereditary law, the House of Hanover should have ascended the ducal throne. However, there was strong Prussian opposition to the title passing to George V or his son the Duke of Cumberland because the Hanoverians had refused to accept the Prussian annexation of their kingdom.
Therefore on William's death in 1884 his title passed to Prince Albert of Prussia and then to John Albert, Duke of Mecklenburg, both of whom served as Regent. The crisis was finally resolved in 1913 when Ernest Augustus III, the son of the Duke of Cumberland, succeeded to the title after he married the Kaiser's daughter and swore allegiance to the German Empire. He reigned from 1913 to 1918, when he abdicated, leaving the state of Brunswick free to join the new Weimar Republic.
A set of twenty-four plates from the service were in the Van Cliburn collection and were sold Christie's, New York, 27 May 2012, lot 49.
Brought to you by
Giles Forster