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Lot Essay
The Duke of Sussex
Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (1773-1840) was the sixth son and ninth child of King George III. In addition to the Dukedom of Sussex, he was created Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Baron Arklow and Earl of Inverness. Until 1804, he was mainly in continental Europe, and in 1792, when in Rome, he met Lady Augusta Murray (1768-1830), daughter of the Earl of Dunmore, whom he married, in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act, in 1793. The union was declared void by his father, George III. Throughout his life, he was a supporter of progressive political reform and also enlightened in the advancement of art and science. He was elected president of the Society of Arts in 1816 and from 1830-1838 was president of the Royal Society.
Epergnes
The epergne, from the French 'pargner', to save, came into use in England at the beginning of the 18th century and was made in many forms to be used as a centrepiece on the table. The baskets and bowls would have held various sweetmeats and condiments to be used at the table.
Throughout the 18th century ‘chinoiserie’, the European interpretation of oriental ornamentation and works of art, was highly fashionable. The style was at its peak in England from 1750 to 1765. Notably King George II employed the architect William Chambers to design a number of buildings for Kew Gardens, including one in the form of a pagoda. Chambers' plans and views of Kew were published in 1762 and could well have influenced the chinoiserie design of the present lot.
Thomas Pitts
Thomas Pitts seems to 'have specialised in epergnes and finely pierced basket-work' (M. Clayton, The Collector's Dictionary of the Silver and Gold of Great Britain and North America, Woodbridge, 1971, p. 175), and an epergne of 1762 by Pitts, with a pineapple finial similar to the present lot, is illustrated by Clayton, op. cit., p. 176, pl. 267. A pagoda epergne of the same date and by the same maker was sold, Mount Congreve: The London Sale; Christie's, London, 23 May 2012, lot 70. A similar but smaller epergne by Pitts, also of 1763, is in The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (museum no. LOAN:GILBERT.689:1-2008).
Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (1773-1840) was the sixth son and ninth child of King George III. In addition to the Dukedom of Sussex, he was created Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Baron Arklow and Earl of Inverness. Until 1804, he was mainly in continental Europe, and in 1792, when in Rome, he met Lady Augusta Murray (1768-1830), daughter of the Earl of Dunmore, whom he married, in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act, in 1793. The union was declared void by his father, George III. Throughout his life, he was a supporter of progressive political reform and also enlightened in the advancement of art and science. He was elected president of the Society of Arts in 1816 and from 1830-1838 was president of the Royal Society.
Epergnes
The epergne, from the French 'pargner', to save, came into use in England at the beginning of the 18th century and was made in many forms to be used as a centrepiece on the table. The baskets and bowls would have held various sweetmeats and condiments to be used at the table.
Throughout the 18th century ‘chinoiserie’, the European interpretation of oriental ornamentation and works of art, was highly fashionable. The style was at its peak in England from 1750 to 1765. Notably King George II employed the architect William Chambers to design a number of buildings for Kew Gardens, including one in the form of a pagoda. Chambers' plans and views of Kew were published in 1762 and could well have influenced the chinoiserie design of the present lot.
Thomas Pitts
Thomas Pitts seems to 'have specialised in epergnes and finely pierced basket-work' (M. Clayton, The Collector's Dictionary of the Silver and Gold of Great Britain and North America, Woodbridge, 1971, p. 175), and an epergne of 1762 by Pitts, with a pineapple finial similar to the present lot, is illustrated by Clayton, op. cit., p. 176, pl. 267. A pagoda epergne of the same date and by the same maker was sold, Mount Congreve: The London Sale; Christie's, London, 23 May 2012, lot 70. A similar but smaller epergne by Pitts, also of 1763, is in The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (museum no. LOAN:GILBERT.689:1-2008).