A John Samuel Hunt Silver Figural Covered Cup: The Lilford Falconry Centerpiece, London, 1851. Marks: (lion passant)...

Description

A John Samuel Hunt Silver Figural Covered Cup: The Lilford Falconry Centerpiece, London, 1851
Marks: (lion passant), (leopard's head), (duty mark), (crowned) ISH, Q, HUNT & ROSKELL LATE STORR MORTIMER & HUNT, 5152, 916, (Russian import mark)
25-1/2 x 15 x 9-1/2 inches (64.8 x 38.1 x 24.1 cm)
7474 grams (240.2984 troy ounces)

PROVENANCE:
Thomas Littleton Powys, 4th Baron Lilford, circa 1860;
George Powys, 7th Baron Lilford;
1999 Joel Micheal Rothschild Trust from the above.

The covered cup on base with four chased repoussé fruit and floral bouquets upon stippled cartouche fields, a hooded falcon upon each of four spiraled straps with foliate pattern rising to the standard, standing to either side a heron with wings extended, tendrils extend from the straps to the cup with a chased repoussé Renaissance Revival scene to either side in strapwork frame, one scene with three falconers on horseback, at center a woman releasing her bird, to the opposite side a hunt scene of men on horseback having released a falcon, on the right a man keeps watch of three falcons, below a handler gathers the hunting dogs, between the cartouches are two finely chased cast stag heads, each supporting a horn and purse below its neck, and above the falconers gloves, the cup flares out with engraved strapwork to top and underside finished with an acanthus band supporting four cast and chased dog heads, each upon a strapwork cartouche, the cover with cast figural group depicting the falconer in Renaissance attire and his falcon banding a heron, the group finely chased rests on a stippled ground.

The centerpiece celebrates falconry with imagery from hooded hawks and herons, hunting scenes and the accoutrements of the sport to a gentleman atop the cover tending a heron whether a kill or a capture to band and release. The origin of its commission is unknown, and its subsequent history is mysterious. At the time of its latest purchase from the 7th Baron Lilford, a photo was shared of the great ornithologist Thomas Littleton Powys, 4th Baron Lilford (1833-1896), in his study with the centerpiece displayed. A single line of descent is in question due to the presence of Soviet Era Russian import marks, indicating that the centerpiece may have been imported and sold in Russia in the late 1940s.

With a connection to the 4th Baron Lilford, an act of conservation is the preferred interpretation of this story telling centerpiece. (note 1) Baron Lilford III was a distinguished ornithologist. His passion for birds started in the late 1840s and continued through his life. He founded the British Ornithologists Union in 1858, the Northamptonshire Natural History Society in 1876 and was a founding member of the Old Hawking Club. He traveled the world collecting birds for his famed aviaries and wrote extensively, including Notes on the Birds of Northamptonshire and Neighbourhood (1895) and Coloured Figures of the Birds of the British Islands. Baron Lilford also corresponded regularly with Charles Darwin , who quotes him in The Descent of Man in chapter XIV on birds titled Mental Qualities.
"When birds gaze at themselves in a looking-glass (of which many instances have been recorded) we cannot feel sure that it is not from jealousy of a supposed rival, though this is not the conclusion of some observers. In other cases it is difficult to distinguish between mere curiosity and admiration. It is perhaps the former feeling which, as stated by Lord Lilford, attracts the ruff towards any bright object, so that, in the Ionian Islands, "it will dart down to a bright-coloured handkerchief, regardless of repeated shots." The common lark is drawn down from the sky, and is caught in large numbers, by a small mirror made to move and glitter in the sun. Is it admiration or curiosity which leads the magpie, raven, and some other birds to steal and secrete bright objects, such as silver articles or jewels?"
Lilford became interested in Falconry in 1853 when he met the famed falconer Edward Clough Newcome, and according to his sister, Caroline Mary Powys Drewitt in her memoir, wrote that he subsequently "took up the ancient sport of falconry, and many a good hawk was trained in Lilford, where falcons and gushawks could always be seen on the blocks on the terrace. The collection of living animals and birds was largely increased and in time all the known species of crane - the most elegant of birds - were collected in the beautiful enclosure around one of the ponds." It was written that "His love of live birds always exceeded his love of sport, and he always preferred learning the habits of a bird to procuring a specimen."

The centerpiece is marked by John Samuel Hunt, a principle of the firm Hunt & Roskell, which first traded as Storr & Co. in 1819, then as Storr & Mortimer, next Mortimer & Hunt, and then as Hunt & Roskell from 1843-1879. Hunt & Roskell had a wide range of patrons. They were favored by the Russian court and received a Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria, which was likely granted in the 1840s. The firm created jewelry and finely crafted silver presentation pieces and tableware. Like the centerpiece, many featured naturalistically modeled and exquisitely finished detail. Their success and reputation continued to build through the 3rd quarter of the nineteenth century with displays at the world's fairs starting with the 1851 Crystal Palace Exposition, the year of the centerpiece's creation.

The same year, John Samuel Hunt was commissioned by King William III to create a sculptural centerpiece for the two-year winner of a horse race. It was inspired by King William's passion for falconry and is inscribed to its wood base 'CHALLENGE CUP GIVEN BY HM THE KING OF THE NETEHRLANDS TO BE WON TWO YEARS IN SUCCESSION BY THE SAME PERSON WON IN 1851 AND 1852, BY MR STIRLING CRAWFURD'S DARKIE." The trophy now in the collection of the u Rijksmuseum /u depicts a falconer on horseback with a tethered hawk. In keeping with the two falconry examples of 1851, is a third example by Hunt dated 1853 depicts an impressive sculptural pair in Renaissance dress, one figure with a tethered bird of prey which sold at Christies in 2017.

Bibliography
Darwin and Ornithological Links to Lilford Hall, The Lilford Estate, u u u http://www.lilfordhall.com/Birds.asp /u /u /u ;
Lord Lilford, The Manchester Guardian, March 25, 1901, p. 6;
Darwin, Charles. The Descent of Man, Prometheus; Revised edition (December 1, 1998).

Drewitt, Caroline Mary Powys, Lord Lilford Thomas Littleton, Fourth Baron F.Z. S. President of the British Ornithologists' Union: A Memoir by his Sister, Caroline Mary Powys, London, Smith, Elder & Co. 1900
Falconry and Conservation, International Association for Falconry and Conservation of Birds of Prey, u https://iaf.org/falconry-and-conservation /u
Lord Lilford, The Manchester Guardian, March 25, 1901, p. 6

Note 1
Beginning in the early 19th century, there are instances of the release of herons captured by falcons. They were listed, banded, released and subsequently recorded if recaptured. This conservancy was practiced at the Royal Loo Hawking Club in Holland, created by King William III.



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