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Lot Essay
WILLIAM FARRINGTON
The engraved coat-of-arms is that of William Farington (1537-1610) of Worden Hall, Leyland, co. Lancashire, and his wife Jane Ann Talbot (1540-1622), whom he married in 1559. William was the son of Henry Farington (c.1465-c.1550), who served as MP for Lancashire in 1529 and was knighted on 30 May 1553 at the coronation of Anne Boleyn. William was educated at Oxford and the Middle Temple, later serving as magistrate in Lancashire and comptroller of the household of three earls of Derby. He inherited Worden Hall upon his father’s death around 1550, which he later bequeathed to his grandson William (1585-1657), bypassing his living son, Thomas (1552-1622), a known spendthrift.
The 1911 publication A History of the County of Lancaster notes of Farington: 'In religion he was externally a conformist to the Elizabethan settlement, but reputed to be in secret its bitter enemy. His descendants have remained Protestant.' Industrious, socially ambitious yet humorless, it has suggested that Farington may have been the inspiration for the character Malvolio in William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. The Earls of Derby entertained Shakespeare’s players so it is conceivable Farington and the legendary playwright had crossed paths (A. Thaler, “The Original Malvolio?”, The Shakespeare Association Bulletin, vol. 7, no. 2 (April 1932), pp. 57-71). The Latin mottos engraved on the side of the cups hint at Farington’s temperament; one translates to ‘the drunken man does not know what evening brings’ and another ‘a thief and drinking cups bring many troubles’.
Very few examples of Tudor beakers survive today. Of the extant beakers, the majority date to the end of the 16th century and are taller in form. The most comparable example to the present lot is a 1573 covered beaker at the Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester. A 1624 beaker by Andrew Jackson & William Tyler made to match the present beaker, and engraved with the arms of Farington and Talbot, was sold Sotheby’s, London, 25 October 2023, lot 92 from the Edith and Stuart Cary Welch Collection.
The engraved coat-of-arms is that of William Farington (1537-1610) of Worden Hall, Leyland, co. Lancashire, and his wife Jane Ann Talbot (1540-1622), whom he married in 1559. William was the son of Henry Farington (c.1465-c.1550), who served as MP for Lancashire in 1529 and was knighted on 30 May 1553 at the coronation of Anne Boleyn. William was educated at Oxford and the Middle Temple, later serving as magistrate in Lancashire and comptroller of the household of three earls of Derby. He inherited Worden Hall upon his father’s death around 1550, which he later bequeathed to his grandson William (1585-1657), bypassing his living son, Thomas (1552-1622), a known spendthrift.
The 1911 publication A History of the County of Lancaster notes of Farington: 'In religion he was externally a conformist to the Elizabethan settlement, but reputed to be in secret its bitter enemy. His descendants have remained Protestant.' Industrious, socially ambitious yet humorless, it has suggested that Farington may have been the inspiration for the character Malvolio in William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. The Earls of Derby entertained Shakespeare’s players so it is conceivable Farington and the legendary playwright had crossed paths (A. Thaler, “The Original Malvolio?”, The Shakespeare Association Bulletin, vol. 7, no. 2 (April 1932), pp. 57-71). The Latin mottos engraved on the side of the cups hint at Farington’s temperament; one translates to ‘the drunken man does not know what evening brings’ and another ‘a thief and drinking cups bring many troubles’.
Very few examples of Tudor beakers survive today. Of the extant beakers, the majority date to the end of the 16th century and are taller in form. The most comparable example to the present lot is a 1573 covered beaker at the Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester. A 1624 beaker by Andrew Jackson & William Tyler made to match the present beaker, and engraved with the arms of Farington and Talbot, was sold Sotheby’s, London, 25 October 2023, lot 92 from the Edith and Stuart Cary Welch Collection.