Silver basket, London, Paul de Lamerie, 1741-1742

Silver oval basket with swing handle, standing on four feet

The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Robert Romney was educated at Christ Church, Oxford and became a Doctor of civil law in 1733. In 1757 he also became a Fellow of the Royal Society. He was President of the Society of Arts from 1761 until his death and of the Marine Society from its foundation in 1756. He also had a keen interest in the military and was colonel of the West Kent militia from 1759. 'The Gentleman's Magazine' wrote in Romney's obituary that "indefatigable in his endeavours to promote the establishment of a national militia, he served in it 20 years, highly respected and beloved." (Schroder, 1988, p. 246)

Provenance: Robert, second Baron Romney. By descent to the Earl of Romney, sale, Sotheby's, lot 181, February 2nd, 1965. Judge Irwin Untermeyer. Acquired by Arthur Gilbert from S.J. Phillips Ltd, London, 1970.

Historical significance: Cake or bread baskets were among de Lamerie's most popular forms: well over fifty are known, dating from between 1724 and 1751. The breadth of variety evident within this group was achieved by the employment of a wide range of cast and pierced decoration. This basket is one of about ten that superseded a variant with dense, heavily cast ornament, the finest examples of which are a pair of baskets of 1737 with pierced ladles at Woburn Abbey. The Gilbert basket is characteristic of the group with its treatment of the feet and its gadrooned decoration around the base, but it is one of the earliest and is corespondingly restrained in taste. Others, such as one of 1742 (sold Sotheby's, New York, June 17, 1981, lot 86), have exuberant details, such as asymmetrical scroll demifigures supporting the handles and applied lion masks on the border, as well as much freer and more varied piercing and engraving. (Schroder, 1988 pp. 246, 248)

Cake or bread baskets were among de Lamerie's most popular forms: well over fifty are known, dating from between 1724 and 1751. The breadth of variety evident within this group was achieved by the employment of a wide range of cast and pierced decoration. This basket is one of about ten that superseded a variant with dense, heavily cast ornament, the finest examples of which are a pair of baskets of 1737 with pierced ladles at Woburn Abbey.

Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.
On long-term loan to Los Angeles County Museum from 2010.

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