Description: Pair George IV silver entree dishes and covers, of South Carolina interest Paul Storr, London, dated 1825, sterling dishes with gadroon rim with foliate and shells intervals, complete hallmarks and engraved crest; domed fused-plate covers with heraldic crest finial above arms of SIR WILLIAM FOWLE MIDDLETON with motto: REGARDEZ MON DROIT, marked; H7 1/2" Dia.12", and 62.6.0ozT weighable
(2pcs)
Provenance: Sir William Fowle, 2nd Bt., by descent to:
Sir George Nathaniel Broke (-Middleton), 3rd Bt., by descent to:
Jane-Ann Broke, Hon. Mrs. James Saumarez, by descent to:
James St. Vincent Broke Saumarez, 5th Baron de Saumarez, by descent to:
James Victor Broke Saumarez, 6th Baron de Saumarez, by descent to:
Eric Douglas Saumarez, 7th Baron de Saumarez, Victor Thomas Saumarez and Louisa Saumarez
Sold, Sotheby's, London, Shrubland Park, 19-20 September 2006, Lot 832.
Other Notes: The arms are those of Middleton impaling Cust for Sir William Fowle Middleton, 2nd Bt., who married Anne, daughter of Brownlow, 1st Baron Brownlow of Belton, in 1825.
Sir William Fowle Middleton inherited his family's country estate, Shrubland Park, upon the death of his father, Sir William Middleton, 1st Bt., in 1829. Upon his inheritance, Middleton commissioned architect James Gandy-Deering, a student of James Wyatt, to expand the house. Gandy-Deering's plans, which included raising terraces and extending the garden facades, altered the entire character of the house, and thus required extensive reorganization and simplification of the interior floor plan. The house was again expanded and remodeled as an Italianate villa circa 1837 to the designs of Sir Charles Barry, architect of the Palace of Westminster.
Middleton family archives and inventories reveal that Sir William Fowle Middleton and his wife Anne were avid collectors. Shrubland Park was largely furnished with paintings purchased on their repeated tours of the Continent, and silver, furniture, carpets and textiles from the most notable firms in London. Accounts indicate that regular payments were made to Storr & Mortimer and Garrard for silver and jewelry. Upon Sir William's 1860 death, Shrubland Park and his extensive collection were inherited by his nephew Sir George Nathaniel Broke (-Middleton), 3rd Bt.
This branch of the Middleton family is directly linked to those of Charleston, South Carolina and Middleton Place. Sir William Fowle Middleton, 1st Baronet was born in Charleston in 1748, and returned to England in claim his inheritance and title. He had one son, who inherited the titled Sir William Fowle Fowle Middleton, 2nd Baronet (1784-1860).