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The Thomas Davies Old Sheffield Plate Table Service, second quarter 19th century, the assembled service comprising a tureen, h. 11", l. 17-1/4", w. 10-3/4", a poultry dome, h. 8-3/4", l. 13", w, 9", a pair of wine coolers, h. 9-1/4", w. 9-1/2", dia. 8", and a large salver, dia. 23", each decorated with shell-and-acanthus gadrooned banding, the tureen with acanthus-mounted ring finial and reeded handles, raised on four lion's paw feet, the dome with acanthus-mounted ring handle, the coolers with gadrooned lower half and shell-and-palmette banding, with fitted liners and collars, the salver plateau with a broad engraved floral-crested rococo cartouche band on an imbricate ground, raised on four shell-and-acanthus lion's paw feet, each piece engraved with the crest and/or arms of Davies quartering Baillie and Pierce. This remarkable set, assembled over time but completely harmonious, demonstrates the grandeur of Old Sheffield plate at its height, shortly before the technique was completely outmoded by electroplating. The elaborate and meticulously detailed arms are those of Davies of Langley, specifically for Thomas Henry Hastings Davies (1789-1846) of Elmley Castle, Worcestershire, the son of Thomas Davies (Advocate-General for the East India Company) and his wife Anna Baillie. Davies enlisted in the 52nd Regiment of the 1st Foot Guards in 1808 and served under Wellington at Waterloo, by which time he had achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He left the army in 1818 to stand as M.P. for Worcester. In the Commons, he was a staunch supporter of the rights of Catholics and (surprisingly) an outspoken critic of military expenditure. He was re-elected four times, but was defeated in 1835 by Conservative Joseph Bailey (1783-1858). While canvassing in that election, Davies was in a carriage accident which left him partially paralyzed in one leg. He returned to Parliament, unopposed in the general election of 1837, but increasing paralysis forced his retirement in 1841. His condition continued to worsen, leaving him completely helpless by the time of his death on December 11, 1846. He left his considerable estate to his wife, Anna Augusta de Crespigny (1799-1892), daughter of Thomas Champion de Crespigny and Augusta Charlotte Thellussion, whom he married on January 17, 1824. (The de Crespigny arms appear in pretence on the salver armorial.) After her husband's death, she married, as his third wife, Sir John Somerset Pakington (1799-1880), Baronet (later Baron Hampton). She died on February 8, 1892.


  • Condition: Overall Condition: Good. One foot on the tureen is bent inwards, with a surrounding crescent-shaped 1-3/4" compression dent on the underside. A larger dent on the underside has been hammered out. The ring handle on the tureen and dome are both slightly out of vertical. Wear to the detail of the highest relief of the acanthus banding throughout, with one or two insignificant spots where the lead core is exposed. No bleeding to the copper; no replating. Superbly engraved armorials, most on rubbed-in cartouches. Coolers retaining the original collars and liners; one cooler lacking the silvered "plug" on the underside (to conceal the hole where the piece was filled with pitch for heft). Cooler interiors and salver underside tinned; dome and tureen silvered on both surfaces. Cooler marked (on the underside) "W"; the tureen marked (on the underside of the lid) with the crossed arrows of Creswick & Co. Sheffield.

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October 17, 2015 10:00 AM CDT
New Orleans, LA, US

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$50 $99 $10
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$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $200
$5,000 $9,999 $250
$10,000 $14,999 $500
$15,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,000
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