Object Type
One of a three part condiment set with M.26B to E-1982. These condiment vases derive in function from the sets of casters for mustard, sugar and perhaps pepper which first appeared in the late 17th century. The sugar caster was larger than the other two vessels, and here the widest bowl and cover would have been used for serving sugar.

People
This condiment set was made by the London silversmith Arthur Annesley, who declared himself bankrupt in 1762. He subsequently worked in Rotterdam. Annesley took the design for the vases from the published work of John Linnell, who was principally a designer and maker of furniture. Linnell (1729-1796) trained as a furniture carver, attended the St. Martin's Lane Academy in London, and was one of the most accomplished draughtsmen of the period.

Design & Designing
This unique and highly original condiment set is based on Linnell's design published in A New Book of Ornaments Useful for Silver-Smith's etc by Gabriel Smith (1724-1783) of about 1755. The form and decoration of the vases demonstrates a highly imaginative interpretation of the Rococo style, combining Chinoiserie and naturalism in the pagoda-shape covers and applied plant and animal ornament. This set is the only known 18th-century silver to use Linnell's designs, although a coffee pot in the V&A (museum no. M.18-1981) made nearly 100 years later by Robert Garrard is after a Linnell design.