Rare 19th Century Australian Silver Wine Ewer by William Edwards
click the photo to enlarge
Rare 19th century Australian silver wine ewer by William Edwards of Melbourne of footed baluster form, naturalistic scrolling branch handle and applied with a band grapes, leaves and vines, presentation inscription reads, 'Presented to Thomas Logan Esq Commander S.S. Hero by his Auckland friends in Commemoration of a public dinner at which he was entertained by the Citizens of Auckland, the Mayor in the chair on the occasion of his first visit to the port after his detention in Quarantine at Sydney N.S.W. Auckland 18th Sept 1872. The lid stamped W Edwards Melbourne, the rim stamped by Appointment to HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, 33.5 cm height (lid lacks top of finial), reference: a near identical example is held in the collection of the Australian Museum of applied Art and Science., Kurt Albrecht - nineteenth century Australian gold & silver Smiths, (Hutchinson group (Australia) Pty Ltd, 1969) plate 27
You must be a subscriber, and be logged in to view price and dealer details.
Subscribe Now to view actual auction price for this item
When you subscribe, you have the option of setting the currency in which to display prices to $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.
This item has been sold, and the description, image and price are for reference purposes only.
- Finial - An architectural decoration, found on the upper parts of of an object. On furniture they are usually found on pediments, canopies and shelf supports. On smaller ceramic or silver items, such as spoons, they may decorate the top of the item itself, or the lid or cover where they provide a useful handle for removal.
Finials have a variety of shapes and forms. They may be urn-shaped, baluster shaped round or spiral, but usually taper into an upper point. Many real life shapes may also be used as finials, such as pineapples, berries, pinecones, buds, lotus and acorns. Sometimes animals such as a lion are depicted, or fish and dolphins. - Ewer / Pitcher - A type of jug with a narrow neck bulbous body and wide spout, originally used for carrying and storing liquids such as water or wine. In medieval times they were the source of water to wash ones hands during and after a meal. later the shape was used for vessels in silver, gold, glass and ceramics.
In Victorian times they were made in ceramics and occasionally glass with a matching basin, and sometimes other accessories such as a soap holder or toothbrush holder. Their purpose was to provide facilities for personal washing In the early 19th century were often enclosed in purpose built stands, and later resided on a washstand..
Sometimes the words "ewer" and "pitcher" are used interchangably, but a pitcher is generally considered to be a jug, and would have a wide mouth, and a gently tapering body.
This item has been included into following indexes: