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拍品專文
Ava Lowle Willing was born in 1868 in Newport, Rhode Island. A descent of many distinguished figures including Thomas Willing, the first president of the First Bank of the United States, and Edward Shippen, the first mayor of Philadelphia, Ava was part of a prominent lineage that significantly influenced American high society. She spent her early years immersed in elite circles, in which her charming beauty and elegance made her a notable figure.
In February 1891, at the age of 23, Ava married ‘Colonel’ John Jacob Astor IV, the grandson of the renowned investor and real estate magnate John Jacob Astor. The marriage brought together two of the most esteemed families of the country, allowing Ava to join the Astor family, a name associated with historical wealth and prominence. Throughout their marriage, Ava remained as an illustrious figure of the American elite, furthering reputation for her captivating glamour and charm.
During their 18 year-long marriage, the couple had two children, one of which was Ava Alice Muriel Astor. After filing for divorce in 1909, Ava moved to England with her daughter where she spent a significant part of her remaining years. In 1911, Alice faced the tragic passing of her father in the sinking of the RMS Titanic when she was merely 10 years old, upon which she was granted a trust fund of $5,000,000 – equivalent to around $165M today. In the following decades, she employed her wealth to become a dedicated patron of the arts, supporting Sadler’s Wells Ballet in London and the New York City Ballet, among many others.
Like her mother, Alice possessed an outstanding style and sophisticated sensibilities that allowed her to uphold the family’s legacy as one the most admired socialites of her time. Embracing the connoisseurship passed down from Ava, Alice continued to cultivate the family’s exquisite collections of art and luxury.
The present service comes from the collection of Emily Sophia Harding, Alice’s daughter with journalist Philip John Ryves Harding. It thought by the family to have been used both at Astor Courts, a palatial home built in 1904 for her grandfather John Jacob Astor IV (1864-1912), and at Marienruh, in Rhinebeck, New York. Astor Courts was designed by McKim, Mead and White and featured tennis and squash courts, a bowling alley and what is believed to be the first residential indoor swimming pool. Designed by Mott Schmidt two decades later, Marienruh was built on the grounds of the Astor estate Ferncliff as a wedding present for Alice and her first husband, Prince Serge Obolensky. Unfailingly chic, this ‘Tobacco Leaf’ pattern service would have graced the table at the family’s dinner parties for decades and represents the enduring beauty shared by an iconic American family across many generations.
In February 1891, at the age of 23, Ava married ‘Colonel’ John Jacob Astor IV, the grandson of the renowned investor and real estate magnate John Jacob Astor. The marriage brought together two of the most esteemed families of the country, allowing Ava to join the Astor family, a name associated with historical wealth and prominence. Throughout their marriage, Ava remained as an illustrious figure of the American elite, furthering reputation for her captivating glamour and charm.
During their 18 year-long marriage, the couple had two children, one of which was Ava Alice Muriel Astor. After filing for divorce in 1909, Ava moved to England with her daughter where she spent a significant part of her remaining years. In 1911, Alice faced the tragic passing of her father in the sinking of the RMS Titanic when she was merely 10 years old, upon which she was granted a trust fund of $5,000,000 – equivalent to around $165M today. In the following decades, she employed her wealth to become a dedicated patron of the arts, supporting Sadler’s Wells Ballet in London and the New York City Ballet, among many others.
Like her mother, Alice possessed an outstanding style and sophisticated sensibilities that allowed her to uphold the family’s legacy as one the most admired socialites of her time. Embracing the connoisseurship passed down from Ava, Alice continued to cultivate the family’s exquisite collections of art and luxury.
The present service comes from the collection of Emily Sophia Harding, Alice’s daughter with journalist Philip John Ryves Harding. It thought by the family to have been used both at Astor Courts, a palatial home built in 1904 for her grandfather John Jacob Astor IV (1864-1912), and at Marienruh, in Rhinebeck, New York. Astor Courts was designed by McKim, Mead and White and featured tennis and squash courts, a bowling alley and what is believed to be the first residential indoor swimming pool. Designed by Mott Schmidt two decades later, Marienruh was built on the grounds of the Astor estate Ferncliff as a wedding present for Alice and her first husband, Prince Serge Obolensky. Unfailingly chic, this ‘Tobacco Leaf’ pattern service would have graced the table at the family’s dinner parties for decades and represents the enduring beauty shared by an iconic American family across many generations.