3rd Jun, 2014 10:00
Decorative Works of Art
230
A CARIBBEAN GEORGE II SILVER COFFEE POT
A CARIBBEAN GEORGE II SILVER COFFEE POT, ATTRIBUTED TO ABRAHAM LE FRANCOIS, ASSAY MASTER ANTHONY DANVERS, JAMAICA, CIRCA 1755 tapering cylindrical, chased with rococo scrolls and foliage around later engraved initials SME, lid with pineapple finial, cast fluted spout, lid and underside each with alligator's head standard and assay master's marks 29cm high, 1253gr (40oz) including wood handle See the New York Historical Museum, Object No. 1943.226, for a coffee pot of almost matching chasing and design, although with differing spout, marked ALF probably for Abraham Le Francois. Although 18th century Jamaican silver is rarely found, it is thought there were at least twenty-three goldsmiths working there in the mid 18th century. By this time, the authorities were sufficiently worried about the quality of their wares that an act of 1747 stated: '…it is notorious that most, if not all, the gold and silver wares made and sold in this island are composed of base metals, and are greatly inferior to the equality and goodness directed and required by the … law, to the great wrong and injury of the buyer.' Unusually for British Colonies, it was decided that all gold and silver should be assayed, the silver to a standard of eleven ounces two pennyweights. The act stipulated that an assay master be appointed, who would be 'obliged to mark the said gold and silver wares with the stamp or mark of an alligator's head, and the initial letters of his own name'. The first assay master, the metallurgist Charles Wood (primarily known for work on wrought iron and platinum) was replaced by Anthony Danvers in 1749. Danvers is thought to have come from Liverpool and perhaps died in Kingston in 1772. The practice of assay marking appears to have stopped by about 1765. Abraham Le Francois worked in London before coming to Jamaica in about 1749, hence presumably the fashionable Rococo chasing on this and the New York pot. The heavy gauge and contemporary style of these pieces reflect the great wealth of some the island's residents at this period. Robert B. Barker, The Proceedings of the Silver Society, 'Jamaican Goldsmiths, Assayers and their marks from 1665-1765', Vol. 3, No. 5', 1986, pp.133-136. The Laws of Jamaica: 1681-1759, Act of 2nd July 1747
Sold for £10,000
A CARIBBEAN GEORGE II SILVER COFFEE POT, ATTRIBUTED TO ABRAHAM LE FRANCOIS, ASSAY MASTER ANTHONY DANVERS, JAMAICA, CIRCA 1755 tapering cylindrical, chased with rococo scrolls and foliage around later engraved initials SME, lid with pineapple finial, cast fluted spout, lid and underside each with alligator's head standard and assay master's marks 29cm high, 1253gr (40oz) including wood handle See the New York Historical Museum, Object No. 1943.226, for a coffee pot of almost matching chasing and design, although with differing spout, marked ALF probably for Abraham Le Francois. Although 18th century Jamaican silver is rarely found, it is thought there were at least twenty-three goldsmiths working there in the mid 18th century. By this time, the authorities were sufficiently worried about the quality of their wares that an act of 1747 stated: '…it is notorious that most, if not all, the gold and silver wares made and sold in this island are composed of base metals, and are greatly inferior to the equality and goodness directed and required by the … law, to the great wrong and injury of the buyer.' Unusually for British Colonies, it was decided that all gold and silver should be assayed, the silver to a standard of eleven ounces two pennyweights. The act stipulated that an assay master be appointed, who would be 'obliged to mark the said gold and silver wares with the stamp or mark of an alligator's head, and the initial letters of his own name'. The first assay master, the metallurgist Charles Wood (primarily known for work on wrought iron and platinum) was replaced by Anthony Danvers in 1749. Danvers is thought to have come from Liverpool and perhaps died in Kingston in 1772. The practice of assay marking appears to have stopped by about 1765. Abraham Le Francois worked in London before coming to Jamaica in about 1749, hence presumably the fashionable Rococo chasing on this and the New York pot. The heavy gauge and contemporary style of these pieces reflect the great wealth of some the island's residents at this period. Robert B. Barker, The Proceedings of the Silver Society, 'Jamaican Goldsmiths, Assayers and their marks from 1665-1765', Vol. 3, No. 5', 1986, pp.133-136. The Laws of Jamaica: 1681-1759, Act of 2nd July 1747
Auction: Decorative Works of Art, 3rd Jun, 2014
