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The notched rim of a monteith, a form first mentioned around 1680, held the stems of wine glasses as they chilled in ice water.
Monteith
Possibly made by: John Austin (English, active 1678–1701)
English (London)
1687-1688
Medium/Technique
Silver, flat-chased ornament
Dimensions
Height x diameter: 15.2 × 29.2 cm (6 × 11 1/2 in.)
Troy weight: 37.7 troy ounces
Troy weight: 37.7 troy ounces
Credit Line
Theodora Wilbour Fund in memory of Charlotte Beebe Wilbour and partial gift of Anne H. and Frederick Vogel III
Accession Number2018.114
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsSilver hollowware
Silver
Silver
The notched rim of a monteith, a form first mentioned around 1680, held the stems of wine glasses as they chilled in ice water.
DescriptionIn the Chinoiserie style, of circular form on spreading foot, the sides divided into eight compartments under a notched rim with an applied band of foliate scrolls, the panels divided by borders of matting, one panel engraved with a coat of arms within flat-chased crossed vegetal plumes, five of the remaining panels flat-chased with scenes of exotic warriors in various poses, the remaining two with extravagant birds.
Marks
Maker's mark "IA" conjoined in script monogram within a shaped shield; leopard's head [London assay mark]; lion passant [sterling standard]; and date letter "k" for 1687-88.
InscriptionsThe arms are impaled: (1) On a chevron between three griffin heads five cinquefoils, and a trefoil for difference, probably for Spencer family of Chester (Sir James Spencer was Lord Mayor of London in 1527), (2) A chevron gules between three cockatrice heads.
ProvenanceBy 1902, George Edward Martin (b. 1829 - d. 1905), England [see note 1]; by descent to his son Elliot George Bromley Martin (b. 1866 - d. 1946), Ham Court, Upton-on-Severn; March 26, 1924, E. Bromley Martin sale, Christie's, London, lot 106. Gerard Henry Craig Sellar (b. 1871 - d. 1929), Ardtornish House, Morvern, Scotland; March 19, 1930, posthumous Gerard Craig Sellar sale, Christie's, London, lot 103. 1981, How of Edinburgh, Ltd. (dealers), London; October 1981, sold by How of Edinburgh to Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Vogel, III, Milwaukee, WI; 2018, sold by Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Vogel to the MFA. (Accession Date: April 25, 2018)
NOTES:
[1] Mr. G. E. Martin loaned the bowl to the exhibition Old Silver-Work Chiefly English from the XVth to the XVIIIth Centuries (London, 1902), lot 35.
NOTES:
[1] Mr. G. E. Martin loaned the bowl to the exhibition Old Silver-Work Chiefly English from the XVth to the XVIIIth Centuries (London, 1902), lot 35.