A Pair Of William And Mary Silver Wall Sconces, Benjamin Bathurst, London, 1692

the backs of oval cartouche shape with embossed gadroon borders flanked by openwork husk pendants, engraved with contemporary arms within matching husk pendants, each with a faceted scroll arm holding drip-pans embossed with ovals and roundels below leaf-chased sconces, the backs engraved T above GM, one fully marked on back, the other maker’s mark struck four times, its branch with lion passant

32 oz, 997 g 

height 10 in, 25.5 cm

Provenance
S.J. Philips, Grosvenor House Antique Dealers’ Fair, 1966

Literature

Apollo Magazine, June 1966

Catalogue note
The arms are those of Treby impaling Brinley for Sir George Treby (the judge) 1664-1700, and his fourth and last wife Mary, married 6 January 1692, who reportedly brought a dowry of 10,000 pounds. Sir George, of Plympton co. Devon and Fleet Street, London, was Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas and six times M.P. for the Borough of Plympton, Eyre, co. Devon. With the accession of William III, in 1689 he was named Solicitor General for England and Wales, and Attorney General. In Parliament, he helped draft the 1689 Bill of Rights.

He started building Plympton House, Devon, which was completed by his son George, M.P. (c.1684-1742) between 1715-20. His son became one of Paul de Lamerie’s most important patrons, acquiring a two-handled cup, a pair of 1720 salvers on foot, and the well-known 1724 Treby Toilet Service of 28 pieces, which cost £377.13.10 (Ashmoleon Museum).

Benjamin Bathurst entered his BB cypher mark with the Goldsmiths' Company in 1677. An elegant engraved gilt beaker by him, c. 1680-85 and sitting in a cagework frame, was part of the Edith and Stuart Cary Welch collection, sold Sotheby's London, 25 October 2023, lot 98. In addition to marked tankards, casters, candlesticks, and toilet mirrors, particularly of the early 1690s, the great silver wine cistern of 1695 at Osterley House, with the arms of Queen Anne, has been attributed to Bathurst.