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Vase
Benjamin Smith, born 1764 - died 1823 - Enlarge image
Vase
- Place of origin:
London, England (hallmarked)
- Date:
1816-1817 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Benjamin Smith, born 1764 - died 1823 (maker)
- Materials and Techniques:
Silver gilt, cast, chased and engraved
- Credit Line:
Bequeathed by W. J. Johnson
- Museum number:
M.1681:1, 2-1944
- Gallery location:
British Galleries, room 120, case 21
Object Type
This vase may well have been made to enhance the dining room of a wealthy patron. Driven by a curiosity about the past, there was a revival of interest in the designs of antique silver and a desire once again to display it on the sideboard. The grand buffets of the past began once more to grace the dining rooms of the aristocracy.
Trading
Although the vase was made Benjamin Smith (1764-1823) , it was probably sold by the Royal Goldsmiths, Rundell, Bridge & Rundell. Smith had managed a workshop in Greenwich near London for Rundells until 1807, but continued to supply the firm. The designs, so closely related to those of Rundells' other main workshop managed by Paul Storr (1771-1844), must reflect the central control exercised by the Royal Goldsmiths. The vase may have been returned to the firm in the 1820s for engraving, since this records that the piece was presented as a marriage gift by Alexander Saunderson in 1828.
