Roseberys’ Silver auction on Wednesday 26 March achieved the highest hammer total to date, with a 90% sell through rate and global interest from private buyers. 

Lot 33: A set of twelve George III silver gilt plates. John Wakelin & William Taylor, London, 1787.
Price Realised: £7,872

The auction was led by the sale of a set of twelve George III silver gilt plates from a Private UK Collection. Produced by makers John Wakelin & William Taylor, the plates were engraved with the arms of Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle. Howard, a statesman and Knight of the Garter, was deeply involved in government, serving as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and Lord Privy Seal. The Earl, however, is better known for his links to his cousins through his mother's side- the Byron family. In 1798 he was appointed guardian to Lord Byron, who later lampooned him in English Bards and Scotch Reviewers, and the household at Castle Howard also often included Byron's half sister Augusta. After fierce bidding over the phones,  online and in the room, they sold to a private buyer in Belgium for £7,872 (including buyer’s premium).  

 

Lot 1: A pair of silver mounted 'Dragon of Wantley' table lighters. Walker & Hall, Sheffield, 1932.
Price Realised: £7,216

A pair of ‘Dragon of Wantley’ table lighters flew over their estimate of £2,000-£4,000, realising a price of £7,216 and demonstrating a consistent appetite for novelty silverware among buyers. The Dragon of Wantley is a legend about a huge and terrible bat-winged dragon that was said to inhabit Wharncliffe Crags, near Sheffield in South Yorkshire. It supposedly devoured trees, buildings, and people before being slain by the knight More of More Hall. Unlike the traditional heroic tale, this legend is comedic—the knight, inebriated and wearing a special suit of Sheffield steel, defeats the dragon by kicking it in its only weak spot; its ‘arse gut’. The tale was popularised in a 1685 ballad and later adapted into an opera by Henry Carey in 1787. The lighters, with each dragon resting a foot on a grenade, are believed to have military associations and may have been used in officers’ mess halls.


Lot 33: An impressive George II silver salver. Augustine Courtauld, London, 1732.
Price Realised: £3,149

The market for Georgian silverware by the best makers remains buoyant, with a consistent sell-through rate for items in the category. Silver giltware from the aforementioned Private UK Collection performed particularly strongly, led by a pair of silver gilt entrée or dessert plates by Paul Storr that realised a price of £4,198. A further highlight for Georgian silverware was the sale of a George II salver by the Huguenot silversmith, Augustine Courtauld, which realised a price of £3,149. Courtauld was the son of a Huguenot refugee who fled France after the 1685 revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Trained under the Huguenot goldsmith Simon Pantin, Courtauld became one of the period’s leading silversmiths, producing works for Empress Elizabeth of Russia and Empress Catherine I.

“We’re delighted with the success of this sale—silver continues to thrive at Roseberys! The strong results for historic silverware, and especially for pieces with interesting provenance, are highly encouraging. Silversmithing has a rich tradition in the UK, and it’s fantastic to see growing interest from private buyers” - Georgina Agnew, Head of Silver at Roseberys. 

Lot 16: A pair of Art Nouveau silver candelabra. Probably German, c.1900.
Price Realised: £7,347

Further highlights included a finely-crafted pair of Art Nouveau candelabra produced around the turn of the 20th century. They realised a price of £7,347 against an estimate of £3,000 - £5,000. An extensive set of Romanian silver flatware realised a price of £8,659, demonstrating the enduring demand for quality silver tableware.