William Lukin, London, circa 1717, engraving by Joseph Sympson

Of circular form, on a pedestal foot, the field engraved with the matrices of the first Seal of the Exchequer of George I, one roundel depicting George I seated on his throne surrounded by Britannia, Justice and the Lion and Unicorn; one roundel engraved with the Royal arms; the larger central roundel depicting Apollo driving his chariot with chained allegorical figures below, and signed I. Sympson sculp. The reverse struck four times with sponsor's mark, and scratched Geo I 1717-1724. Diameter 14 inches (35.5 cm), approximately 61 ounces.

Provenance:
Sir Robert Walpole (1676-1745)
Horace Walpole (1717-1797)
Strawberry Hill sale of 1842, lot 115, (for £40 9s 3d)
Bought by 13^th Earl of Derby, by descent
18^th Earl of Derby, sold privately 1940s
A New York Private Collection

Literature:
Christopher Hartop, Sir Robert Walpole’s Silver, Silver Studies 30, The Silver Society 2014, illus. Fig. 7, p. 12.
Tessa Murdoch, Art Council England, Case 6 2010-11: A George I Silver Seal Salver by Paul de Lamerie, www.artscouncil.org.uk
Harold Newman, An Illustrated Dictionary of Silverware, London, 1978, p. 348.
Charles Oman ‘English Engravers on Plate: III Joesph Sympson and William Hogarth”, Apollo, July 1957, p. 286, fig. 1.
Charles Oman, English Engraved Silver 1150-1900, London, 1978, p. 89.

A Rediscovered Treasure

The rediscovery of the Walpole silver seal salver marks the return of an important piece of 18^th century English silver. For many years, the tazza was known only from an ink impression, now in the collection of the British Museum. The tazza forms part of a select group of ‘seal silver’, traditionally given as a royal perquisite to Crown office holders, and features exceptionally fine and rare, signed engraving.

The salver also reflects the history of illustrious ownership, as it was commissioned by Sir Robert Walpole, considered England’s first Prime Minister, and one of the most prodigious silver collectors of the 18^th century. The salver sold in the famed Strawberry Hill sale of 1842, from the collection of Horace Walpole, to the 13^th Earl of Derby. It remained in the Derby collection until it was sold privately in the 1940s. The salver now returns to public view after many years in a New York private collection.

A Perq of Office: The Tradition of Seal Silver

According to tradition dating back to the 16^th century, certain state office holders were entitled to a seal of office. When the seal became obsolete, the silver matrices were broken or defaced and then returned to the office holder, as a perquisite (or perq) of office. Dr. Tessa Murdoch’s research on the subject cites the first instance of fashioning matrices into covered cups was in 1574, fashioned from Mary I’s great seal. Salvers superseded cups as the plate of choice around 1700, first for the Exchequer Seal of William and Mary. The flat surface was ideal for showcasing the engraved seals on these works of display plate. Murdoch has documented 13 seal salvers, in public and private collections, including the current lot.

Sir Robert Walpole’s Silver

Sir Robert Walpole (1675-1745) was renowned for his role in British politics, as George I’s ‘prime’ minister, for his prodigious entertainments, his art collections, and his great house, Houghton Hall. Walpole also built a vast silver collection. Christopher Hartop’s extensive research into Walpole’s collection reveals silver of the highest quality, and documents the interconnected relationship between the silversmith William Lukin, the engraver Joseph Sympson, and goldsmith-bankers Daniel and Joseph Norcott, who in turn, supplied large amounts of silver to Walpole.

Walpole commissioned two seal salvers, to commemorate his two terms as First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer, from 1715-1717 and again from 1721-1727. This salver was presumably ordered, circa 1717, when Walople’s first term of exchequer completed.

As this seal salver has remained only in private collections, it is best known from a pull, or ink impression, of the engraving, now in the collection of British Museum (1977 U.769). The pull, like the salver, sold in the 1842 Strawberry Hill sale. It was acquired by the famed caricaturist and book illustrator, George Crookshank (1792-1878), and was donated by his widow, Eliza Crookshank, to the British Museum in 1891. That the tazza was commemorated in a counterproof attests to its significance, as does its acquisition by the talented Crookshank, regarded as the “modern Hogarth” of his time.

Walpole’s second seal salver was fashioned by Paul de Lamerie, 1728-29. Although the engraved work is unsigned, it has been attributed to William Hogarth. The salver was acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1956 (M.9-1956), and is today prominently displayed as one of the best-known examples of Paul de Lamerie’s work.

Other Walpole works with connections to both Lukin and Sympson include a covered cup, marked by Lukin and signed by Sympson, with transposed marks for 1697; and a pair of fully marked wine coolers, 1716-17, by Lukin in the French taste that are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York.