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Lot Essay
'LYON FACED' CANDLESTICKS
The model for these candlesticks was amongst the Birmingham entrepreneur Matthew Boulton's earliest designs for silver and ormolu, the latter invariably with the addition of candle branches. Other English silversmiths copied the design, including notably in the 18th century Thomas Heming, but Boulton and Fothergill appear to have made the earliest silver versions in England whilst the model appears to have originated in France. Its origin there is uncertain, however, the form is usually attributed to the well-known doreur-ciseleur Pierre Gouthière (1732-1813), and ormolu versions without candle branches attributed to him are thought to date from the mid-1760s or earlier.
Boulton's candlesticks were closer to Gouthière's model than those of other English silversmiths, which strengthens the claim that he was the first silversmith to produce these candlesticks in England. How he acquired the design is not known. He may have secured it during his visit to Paris in 1765, or copied it from a Gouthière candlestick in the collection of an English patron. The words 'lyon-faced' and 'lyon' appear in correspondence to describe the candlesticks in 1771. The model remained popular into the early 19th century, as shown by the present lot.
THOMAS DOUGLAS, 5TH EARL OF SELKIRK
Thomas Douglas was born in 1771. At an early age he travelled extensively on the Continent and through the Highlands of Scotland and in 1803 visited Canada and founded a settlement on Prince Edward Island on the Gulf of St. Lawrence and another, called Baldoon, in Upper Canada. He returned home in December 1804 and from 1806 onwards was a representative peer in the House of Lords. In 1811, having received a large grant of land from the Hudson Bay Company, he returned to Canada and founded another settlement on the Red River where the city of Winnipeg now stands.
He revisited Canada in 1815 and stayed there for four years. On his return, much broken in health, he went to Pau in France. He married, in November, 1807, Joan, daughter of James Wedderburn-Colville of Inveresk. Lord Auckland wrote to Lord Grenville on November 14, 'Lord Selkirk is not much to be admired much for his political conduct or for his eloquence, but he is amiable and good in private life and therefore I am glad that he is to marry Miss Wedderburn, the sister and particular friend of my Louisa.' These candlesticks and candelabra evidently were part of the Earl and Countess's wedding plate. The Earl died at Pau in 1820, aged 48. His widow survived until 1871.
Thomas, 5th Earl of Selkirk (1771-1820). © Universal History Archives / UIG / Bridgeman Images