27
THE DOVES OF PLINY
Lady Harri et Elizabeth Georgiana Howard, Duchess of
Sutherland (1806?
1868) (after Sir Thomas Lawrence)
by Reub en Thomas William Sayers (1815-1888)
PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF MR.
JOSEPH SE GAL
AN IMPRESSIVE PAIR OF VICTORI AN
‘DOVES OF PLINY’ SILVER
CENTERPIECES, PAUL STORR FO R STORR
& MORTIMER, LONDON, 1838
The design of each inspired by the mosaic known a s the ‘Doves
of Pliny’ or the ‘Capitoline Doves’ which was part of an ancient
Roman floor discovered at Hadrian’s Villa in 1737, o n square
bases supporting cylindrical pedestals applied with festoons of
flowers, each of the compressed circular bowls on openwork
scrolls and engraved with the cypher of the Duke o f Sutherland
within a cartouche of wheat sprays below an applie d ovolo rim
and cast doves
15116gr.;
PROVENANCE
George Sutherland Leverson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland
(1786-1861), by descent to
George Granville Sutherland-Leverson-Gower, 5th Duke of
Sutherland (1888-1963), sold
Christie’s, London, 19 May 1944, lot 94
David Orgell (1921-1987), Beverly Hills, California, 9 January 1974
LITERATURE
Michael Clayton, Christie’s
American Silver
fig
6 (one).
Pictorial History of English and
Phaidon-Christie’s, Oxford, 1985, p.
‡ £ 120,000- 180,00
291,
486oz.
54cm.,
21 ¼ in.
high; 35cm.,
13 ¾ in.
diameter
Buyers are liable to pay both the hammer price (as estim ated above) and the buyer’s premium together with any applicable taxes and Artist’s Resale Right
114
(which will depend on the individual circumstances).
Ref er to the Buying at Auction and VAT sections at the back of this catalogue for further information.