Waterloo: A Victorian Silver-Gilt Equestrian Commemorative Inkstand, John Mortimer & John Samuel

hourglass form, with a ribbon-tied reeded border and a cartouche either side engraved with arms and crest, on four shell and scroll feet, fitted with two horse hoof inkwells either side of a pedestal form wafer/seal box set with two Waterloo Medals, one side engraved "Old George," the other with a memorial in Latin (see below), the top of the pedestal supporting a lead bullet, fully marked, the base stamped 891 Storr and Mortimer

122 1/4 oz; 3802 g all-in

length 19 1/4 in.; 49 cm

Provenance
Sotheby's, New York, The Victor Niederhoffer Collection of Trophy and Presentation Silver, 15 December 1998, lot 151

Catalogue note
The arms are those of Gomm, Clerkenwell, Middlesex, for Sir William Maynard Gomm (1784-1875), Field Marshall, G.C.B. Gomm was just nine years old when he joined the 9th Regiment of Foot in 1794. He was in seven battles during the Napoleonic wars including the Battle of Copenhagen and the Battle of Salamanca. He was promoted to Commander-in-Chief in India and in 1863 became Colonel of the Coldstream Guards in succession to Lord Clyde. He was further promoted to field marshal in 1868.

The Latin inscription on the seal box translates as:

'In memory of an excellent war horse, who in his best years, at the Battle of Waterloo received a grave wound, the witness of which is this lead bullet extracted after his death and placed between two of his hoofs. In his old age he was settled in the meadows at Stoke Park in the county of Buckinghamshire where he was most warmly received and in the greatest happiness on his final day. He died on 28 December 1840 at the age of 33. He lies with full honours in that welcoming field which he loved most.'

Stoke Park was owned by John Penn, the uncle of Gomm's wife, Sophia. Old George's gravestone can still be seen there today. The house was designed by James Wyatt in 1788, with grounds design by Capability Brown and Humphry Repton. The house has been used for several movies including Goldfinger, Tomorrow Never Dies, and Layer Cake. The house was converted into a country club in 1908.