A George III silver presentation two-handled tray, Paul Storr of Storr & Co. for Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, London, 1818

A George III silver presentation two-handled tray, Paul Storr of Storr & Co. for Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, London, 1818

shaped oval, on four shell, scroll and grapevine bracket feet, the border cast with shells and foliate scrolls, and with two foliate scroll handles, the field finely engraved with a central scene of Cupid unveiling a coat-of-arms before a reclining female figure and a phoenix rising from flames emblematic of the trade and agriculture of the Isle of Mauritius enclosed by extensive views of the island's Grand Port and Port Louis, further engraved with a presentation inscription, the underside stamped:596
81cm., 31 7/8 in. over handles
8,464gr., 271oz.

Provenance:
Sir Robert Townsend-Farquhar. 1st Bt. (1776-1830) and then by descent to
Horace Farquhar, 1st and last Earl Farquhar (1844-1923), most of whose possessions he bequeathed to members of the British royal family (including the bulk of his silver to Princess Arthur of Connaught (1891-1959)); sold with the remaining contents of the Earl's London house, 7 Grosvenor Square by Curtis & Henson, May 1924, 'A silver tea tray, engraved with a naval subject by Paul Storr, 1818. . . £220' (Aberdeen Press and Journal, Aberdeen, Friday, 16 May 1924, p. 8d).
From the Collection at Parham Park, West Sussex (largely acquired by the Hon. Clive Pearson (1887-1965) and his wife following their purchase of Parham in 1922), sold at Christie's, London, 15 June 2004, lot 31, together with a companion two-handled tray (lot 32), Paul Storr, London, 1818.
Property from the Estate of Benjamin F. Edwards III, sold at Christie's, New York, 19 October 2012, lot 135.
Private Collection