Rare, Fine and Important George III Silver Swing Handled Cake Basket Elizabeth Aldridge, London, 1766
Sloping panels of hand-pierced diaperwork and scrollwork define this beautiful classic George III rococo cake basket with a cast and applied border of shells, foliate scrolls and gadrooning, supported by cast feet containing similar foliate scrollwork with a Palladian cornice in each foot. The swing handle is cast with shell and beadwork decoration centering a pierced trellis design. Length: 15 inches, Width: 13 inches, Height (without handle): 4½ inches, Weight: approximately 34 troy ounces.
Elizabeth (née Parker) married Edward Aldridge (I) October 19, 1723. The Aldridge shop specialized in pierced work, and more specifically, baskets. During the mid-eighteenth century, Aldridge became one of London's preeminent basket makers, catering to the needs of the Aristocracy and rich landed gentry. He apprenticed the next generation of specialist basket makers, including William Plummer, the most prolific basket maker of the late eighteenth century. Elizabeth's lozenge shaped mark is known on only a few rare examples of silver made after the death of her husband in December of 1765.
Aldridge Silver can be found in some of the most important public and private collections including: Colonial Wiliamsburg, The Clark Institute, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, etc.
Provenance: This basket bears the arms of Methuen as borne by Paul, first Baron Methuen, elevated in 1838. Typical of the English aristocracy, Lord Methuen updated the arms on this basket to reflect his new rank. Numerous members of the Methuen family have been important diplomats, politicians and advisors to the Crown - especially in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries including:
John (c.1650-1706) served as a Member of Parliament; Lord Chancellor of Ireland; Privy Councilor; Envoy and then Ambassador Extraordinary to Portugal where he negotiated the 'Methuen' Treaty of 1703 which cemented allegiances in the War of Spanish Succession and created favorable trade terms for Port wine. He is buried in Westminster Abbey.
Paul (1672-1757) served as an Ambassador to Spain, Portugal & Morocco; Lord of the Admiralty then Treasury; Comptroller and Treasurer of the (Royal) Household; Member of Parliament and was made a Knight of the Bath in 1725. The town of Methuen, Massachusetts, was named for him.
In 1766, Paul (c.1730-1795) purchased Corsham Court in Corsham, Wiltshire, one of England's great 'country' houses. Corsham Court was a Royal Manor from the times of the Saxon Kings until it was sold by parsimonious Queen Elizabeth I. Methuen refurbished the mansion and grounds with the help of architect John Nash (know for his work in nearby Bath) and the famous landscape architect "Capability" Brown. Still owned by the Methuen family today, it houses an outstanding collection of old masters including: Michelangelo, Van Dyck, Rubens, Reynolds, etc., along with furnishings by Thomas Chippendale. This basket was almost certainly part of Paul Methuen's expensive new silver made to go in his stately new home.
Condition: Very Good. As noted - the arms, circa 1838, are over an erasure. There is restoration near one of the handle joins, and one scroll is missing from a foot bracket.
For more information see:
Glanville, Phillipa and Goldsborough, Jennifer. Women Silversmiths: 1685-1845. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1990.
Grimwade, Arthur. London Goldsmiths 1697-1837: Their Marks & Lives, 3rd edition. London: Faber and Faber, 1990.
Townend, Peter, ed. Burke's Geneological and Heraldic History of the Peerage Baronetage and Knightage, 105th edition. London: Burke's Peerage Limited, 1970.
Wees, Beth Carver. English, Irish & Scottish Silver at the Sterling and Francine Clark Institute. New York: Hudson Hills, 1997.
Our Price: SOLD
Item code: E88
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