Wine cooler,gilded silver, cast and chased, with applied ornament, English (London), maker's mark of Paul Storr for Rundell Bridge and Rundell, 1809-1810.

Ormonde family crest
From a set of two. Theed’s design is after a vase in the Villa Albani. It was engraved by C.H. Tatham and used by Rundell’s for a set of eight coolers by Digby Scott and Benjamin Smith (1808) in the Royal Collection, and for a set of four by Paul Storr (1809).

This vase and stand, one of a set of four, is typical of the kind of grand neo-classical plate demanded by wealthy clients to dress their buffets or dining tables in the early 19th century.

Decorated with a bacchanalian procession including Dionysus, Persephone and a drunken Silenus carried by two satyrs, it is based on a design by William Theed, who in turn was inspired by a classical vase in the Villa Albani. The pattern was extremely successful. It was first made as a set of eight by Benjamin Smith for the Royal collections, and then used repeatedly by Paul Storr, with minor variations.

Theed was a sculptor who ran Rundells' design studio until his death in 1817. His employment illustrates the common practise for major 19th-century firms to take on artists to design silver which was generally made by a firm of subcontractors (Paul Storr in this case). John Flaxman (1755-1826) and Thomas Stothard (1755-1834) were two of the most illustrious names connected with the firm.

M.48C-1982