Francis Nelme
A Pair of George I Antique English Silver Double-Lipped Sauce Boats, 1724/5
Length: 9 in. (22.86 cm.)
Weight: 39 oz. 10 dwt.
London
H0137
Sold
Each oval with undulating molded rim, on moulded conforming foot, with two scroll handles, the spouts with baluster drops, the bases later engraved MAE C. PLANT 1917 and with script...
Each oval with undulating molded rim, on moulded conforming foot, with two scroll handles, the spouts with baluster drops, the bases later engraved MAE C. PLANT 1917 and with script initials AW, fully hallmarked, the maker’s mark of Francis Nelme overstriking that of John Chartier.
Provenance:
-Sir Thomas Charles Callis Western, baronet, of Felix Hall, Essex sold at
Christie’s, London, 2 July 1913, lot 54 to Elkington
-Mrs. John E. Rovensky (formerly Mrs. Morton F. Plant), sold at Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 19 January 1957, lot 900
S.J. Shrubsole, 1973
-Harry Hahn
Mae C. Plant was a collector of fine jewelry and silver, and items from her collection, engraved with her name, may be found in a number of museum collections, including the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She is famous in jewelry circles for a trade made in 1917. She and her husband Morton F. Plant, a railroad heir and shipping magnate, lived at 653 Fifth Avenue, an area once known as Millionaire’s Row, but which was becoming commercialized and loosing its residential appeal. She admired an extraordinary matched pair of natural South Sea pearl necklaces for sale at Cartier for one million dollars. Her husband, sensing an opportunity, traded their home for the necklaces. The price of pearls fell precipitously following the introduction of cultured pearls, while Fifth Avenue become one of the world’s premier retail locations. Cartier still resides there; a portrait of Mae can be seen inside.
Provenance:
-Sir Thomas Charles Callis Western, baronet, of Felix Hall, Essex sold at
Christie’s, London, 2 July 1913, lot 54 to Elkington
-Mrs. John E. Rovensky (formerly Mrs. Morton F. Plant), sold at Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 19 January 1957, lot 900
S.J. Shrubsole, 1973
-Harry Hahn
Mae C. Plant was a collector of fine jewelry and silver, and items from her collection, engraved with her name, may be found in a number of museum collections, including the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She is famous in jewelry circles for a trade made in 1917. She and her husband Morton F. Plant, a railroad heir and shipping magnate, lived at 653 Fifth Avenue, an area once known as Millionaire’s Row, but which was becoming commercialized and loosing its residential appeal. She admired an extraordinary matched pair of natural South Sea pearl necklaces for sale at Cartier for one million dollars. Her husband, sensing an opportunity, traded their home for the necklaces. The price of pearls fell precipitously following the introduction of cultured pearls, while Fifth Avenue become one of the world’s premier retail locations. Cartier still resides there; a portrait of Mae can be seen inside.