With bullion prices at a record high and precious metals out stripping almost every other commodity in the financial world, it is good to see pieces that come through Golding Young’s Lincoln Saleroom that should find itself nowhere near a weighing scale or spring balance.
A silver tureen by the acclaimed Georgian maker Paul Storr was one such piece that set pulses racing at the latest offering held at the saleroom in Lincoln on February 25th.
It was a colossus of an object made by a colossus of a silversmith. It stood at 32cm and weighed just shy of 100 troy ounces. You could see it from twenty paces as being something special, with its etched coat of arms and scroll lid; it was not spoiled by later hands with further engraving or repousse work and was as it would have been seen on the wealthiest dining tables of Regency England.
The finesse was undeniable, it had wonderful lines of quality and even felt expensive, due to its weight. The magical PS initials on the lid and main body, confirmed it as being from the greatest 19th century English maker of them all.
Paul Storr (1770 -1844) fulfilled an amazing life; his wares were purchased and he was patronized by the main named families of the day. He was prolifically good and along with another Paul, de Lamerie that most famous of French Huguenot makers, around roughly 100 years previous, he could be classed as the leader in his field.
When this item was made, Storr was at his dazzling best. His factory at Dean Street, Soho was in full flow, producing the finest quality pieces to only the wealthiest clients. It is rumoured they produced 10,000 oz of finished silver every month, an amazing amount in anyone’s book but even more remarkable when it is noted he was the best.
The item therefore was made in the finest period, by the highest quality maker, it stood out amongst what was a fine collection of silver on the 25th and was suitably courted pre-sale, with more condition reports for this lot than any other being written.
The hammer price after a great bidding war online was £7000. With the world in such turmoil it is unlikely this piece would find its way anywhere else than into the finest private collection or the grandest dining tables in the land, but whatever its fate may be, it is always good to see and handle the very finest pieces and this piece puts emphasis on the fact that certain things need to be cherished as once they reach that great melting pot in the sky, they are gone forever.
