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Lot Essay
The arms are those of Battenberg accolé with the Royal arms of Great Britain with those of Saxony on an escutcheon of pretence, as borne by Prince Henry of Battenberg K.G., and his wife, Princess Beatrice, fifth daughter of Queen Victoria, whom he married in 1885.
These plates form part of an extensive dinner service by Storr weighing a total of 4,882 oz., dispersed in the sale cited above for a total of £1,168. Other pieces from the service to have appeared in these Rooms include the following: a pair of wine coolers from the George Sydney Collection, sold May 24, 1977, lot 199; twelve dinner plates from the Samuel J. Campbell Collection, February 11, 1982, lot 145; a pair of vegetable dishes, a pair of sauce tureens and covers, a further twelve dinner plates, and a pair of meat dishes, all sold October 22, 1984, lots 15 through 162, and a soup tureen on stand, sold April 11, 1990, lot 368.
The Battenberg service appears in the diary kept by the young Arthur Grimwade, then a trainee in Christie's London silver department: "7 April 1932. Today I went with Mr. B. to Princess Beatrice's apartments at Kensington Palace to view a magnificent silver dinner service by Paul Storr which they want to know if we think we could get more that /p1,000 for it. They have had an offer of this amount. We took the portable scales..." Then, in May: "The royal Storr dinner service was sold as one lot. It was bought by a man named Vardi [probably an American dealer] who had left a commission on it but had to go higher. He got it at 6/10d. per oz., the total amounting to /p1,668.3.5. The plated dish covers were sold separately. It was quite a quick sale, the bidding starting at 3/-. For such a large service at such a time and for such a late date 1809-11, 6/10 is not bad although it was by Storr" (Arthur Grimwade, Silver for Sale, published by M. Russell, Norwich, 1994, pp. 17-19).
Another set of twelve plates sold in these rooms 11 February 1982, lot 145, The Estate of Samuel J. Campbell.
These plates form part of an extensive dinner service by Storr weighing a total of 4,882 oz., dispersed in the sale cited above for a total of £1,168. Other pieces from the service to have appeared in these Rooms include the following: a pair of wine coolers from the George Sydney Collection, sold May 24, 1977, lot 199; twelve dinner plates from the Samuel J. Campbell Collection, February 11, 1982, lot 145; a pair of vegetable dishes, a pair of sauce tureens and covers, a further twelve dinner plates, and a pair of meat dishes, all sold October 22, 1984, lots 15 through 162, and a soup tureen on stand, sold April 11, 1990, lot 368.
The Battenberg service appears in the diary kept by the young Arthur Grimwade, then a trainee in Christie's London silver department: "7 April 1932. Today I went with Mr. B. to Princess Beatrice's apartments at Kensington Palace to view a magnificent silver dinner service by Paul Storr which they want to know if we think we could get more that /p1,000 for it. They have had an offer of this amount. We took the portable scales..." Then, in May: "The royal Storr dinner service was sold as one lot. It was bought by a man named Vardi [probably an American dealer] who had left a commission on it but had to go higher. He got it at 6/10d. per oz., the total amounting to /p1,668.3.5. The plated dish covers were sold separately. It was quite a quick sale, the bidding starting at 3/-. For such a large service at such a time and for such a late date 1809-11, 6/10 is not bad although it was by Storr" (Arthur Grimwade, Silver for Sale, published by M. Russell, Norwich, 1994, pp. 17-19).
Another set of twelve plates sold in these rooms 11 February 1982, lot 145, The Estate of Samuel J. Campbell.