A pair of George II silver salvers made for the 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Fluted dishes on tripod supports with shellwork rims. Engraved in the centres with the crest of Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield. H 3.7; D 16 cm, weight 272 and 290 g.
London, marks of Paul Crespin, 1733.
Paul Crespin was one of the most important and successful Huguenot silversmiths in 18th century London - with close links to the workshop of Paul de Lamerie. The quality of his work is as impressive as the list of his clients; for example, he supplied the Duke of Somerset in Devon, as well as the 'Jewel House' in the Tower of London, which was responsible for the allocation of silverware to the diplomats of the royal house. His portrait is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield KG (1694-1773) married Melusina von der Schulenburg, Countess of Walsingham, an illegitimate daughter of King George I to Ehrengard Melusine von der Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal and Munster in 1733.
Provenance
Formerly Castello di Cassano Magnano, auctioned by Pierre Bergé, Paris, November 2021; Dutch private ownership.
Literature
For more on Crespin see Hartop, The Huguenot Legacy, English Silver 1680 - 1760, London 1996, p. 49 ff, with copious illustrations of his works