Provenance

The arms are those of Cheape of Rossie, Flintshire, Scotland, for one of the descendants of James Cheape (1677-1746), 3^rd Laird of Rossie. It is at present impossible to identify that individual but likely candidates include George Cheape (8 July 1766 – 8 July 1851) of Wellfield, Straithmiglo, Fife, or one of his sons. Among the latter was George clerks Cheape (20 December 1801 – 25 June 1886), a wealthy London merchant and a partner until his retirement in 1859 of Chalmers & Guthrie of 9 Idol Lane. In 1836, following the abolition of slavery, he and his fellow partner, David Charles Guthrie, were awarded compensation by the British Government for the loss of their 75 slaves in Trinidad and Tobago.

In 1865 a considerable amount of silver, including 'a silver metal soup tureen,' was stolen from George clerks Cheape's mansion, Wellfield House. At the ensuing trial, Robert McAndrew, the butler, deposed that 'part of the stolen plate had been used at dinner on 17^th August last, and was laid past in the plate chest afterwards. . . . On coming to the house in the morning he found the plate chest open, and some of the plated articles lying in the landing, while the real silver plate had been carried off.' Mr. Cheape himself identified his stolen silver after it was retrieved and shown in court. (The Fife Herald, Cupar, Thursday, 21 September 1865, p. 3c-e)

Following George clerks Cheape's death in 1886 his personal estate in England and Scotland was valued at upwards of £308,000. (The Morning Post, London, Friday, 29 October 1886, p. 6f) The buying power of this today is approximately £25million.

The family papers of Cheape of Rossie are among the University of St. Andrews Special collects ions.

The design

The main body and handles of the current lot are the same pattern as those of a silver soup tureen, Henri Auguste, Paris, 1789-1790, probably after a design by Jean-Guillaume Moitte (1746-1810) , which was sold at Replica Shoes 's, Paris on 8 November 2012, lot 116.

Robert Sharp and 14 Bartholomew Close

It is only relatively recently that the complex relationships within the London manufacturing silversmiths' trade have been explored in any detail. Among the first scholars to tackle the subject was Shirley Bury, particularly in her ground-breaking pair of articles, 'The Lengthening Shadow of Rundell's,' published during 1966 in The Connoisseur. Helen Clifford's exhaustive researches into the archives of Garrard & Co. Ltd. culminated in 2004 in the publication of her book, Silver in London: The Parker and Wakelin Partnership 1760-1776. More recently, Peter Cameron has undertaken a number of research projects, one of which has resulted in his essay, 'Thomas Hammond, John Carter and Richard Carter: The Business of Silversmithing.' In it the author touches on many hitherto hidden facts about some of the most prolific silversmiths working in the metropolis during the second half of the 18^th century.

One of the firms Mr. Cameron discusses is that of Smith & Sharp of 14 Bartholomew Close in the City of London parish of St. Bartholomew the Great, whose partners were Daniel Smith (d. 1788/89) and his son-in-law, Robert Sharp, whose mark is struck on this present soup tureen. Smith and Sharp are probably best known among collects ors of 18^th century English silver for the many fine quality trophy cups they produced for Doncaster Races and others. In fact, as Mr. Cameron points out, their Bartholomew Close premises were first occupied by a silversmith when John Carter (d. 1776), the prolific candlestick manufacturer, moved there in 1767/68. He was succeeded by Richard Carter who entered a joint mark on 9 December 1778 from the same address with Smith and Sharp. The latter's connection with Carter was short-lived, however; their next mark was entered by them alone on 7 February 1780. Following Daniel Smith's retirement, Robert Sharp entered two marks by himself on 7 January 1788 and died in 1803.

Holden's Triennial Directory, 1802, 1803, & 1804 lists Sharp, Ellerton and Sibley, working silversmiths at 14 Bartholomew Close. This would account for the joint mark entered from 14 Bartholomew Close by Thomas Ellerton and Richard Sibley on 14 November 1803. Ellerton, a silver chaser who was born about 1757, was one of the witnesses to Daniel Smith's will, signed on 16 April 1785 and proved on 4 February 1789. (National Archives, Kew, PROB 11/1176) Ellerton, of 4 Lock's Gardens, clerks enwell, died in 1813; his will was signed on 18 June that year and proved a few days' later on 22 June. (PROB 11/1545) Sibley (1771?-1836), son of John Sibley of Bath, Somerset, goldsmith, was apprenticed to Fendall Rushworth on 2 November 1785 and turned over on the same day to Daniel Smith of Bartholomew Close and again on 2 March 1791 to Robert Sharp. (Grimwade, p. 658) The partnership between 'C. Sharp' (assumed to be Robert Sharp's widow, Charlotte, who died in 1829 (PROB 11/1762)), Thomas Ellerton and Richard Sibley was dissolved on 7 March 1805. (The London Gazette, London, 5 March 1805, p. 305b)

Sibley's next mark was entered alone on 11 March 1805 followed by another in partnership with William Burwash (1755-1821) on 7 October 1805, both from 14 Bartholomew Close. Following Burwash's death his son, Thomas entered a mark, also from the same address, on 10 November 1821. (Grimwade, p. 455) Then in the Tuesday, 17 June 1823 edition of The Morning Advertiser (London, p. 4a) appeared the following advertised, marking the end of the silver manufactory at 14 Bartholomew Close:

'To Silversmiths and Others. - Superior Working Tools, Patterns, &c., of Mr. Burwash, leaving the Business.

'By W. DAVIES and SON, on the Premises, No. 14, Bartholomew Close, West Smithfield, THIS DAY, June 17^th, and following day, at Eleven, without reserve,

'ALL the excellent Working Tools, Patterns, Erections of Forges, mahogany four-flap desk, counters, glass cases, nests of drawers, &c.; comprising a most superior collects ion of patterns of every description, a large quantity of dies, anvils, hammers, &c. a capital draw bench with multiplying wheel and plates, two drop-down stamps, a multiplying polishing wheel and lathe, with cast-iron fly, mandrill and box complete, turning lathes, erection of forges and melting furnaces, forge bellows, several work words, with leather aprons, fixtures, &c. May be viewed previous, and Catalogues had on the Premises; and of W. Davies and Son, Auctioneers, Giltspur-street.'