A rare George I sparrow beak cream jug
COLIN MCKENZIE, EDINBURGH 1719
£3,900
Scottish Silver & Applied Arts
Auction: 17 August 2016 from 12:00 BST
Description
Assay Master Edward Penman, the baluster body with simple short sparrow beak spout, raised on socle foot, the underside engraved with two groups of initials 'S / PS' and 'M / JG'
Dimensions
11cm high, 5.4oz
Footnote
Provenance:
James Ivory Esq. Collection
Sotheby's Gleneagles 28th August 1969, lot 137
Sotheby's Blair Castle 12th September 1980, lot 163
Sotheby's 18th February 1982, lot 157
S. J. Shrubsole, New York
References and Exhibition;
'Old Scottish Silver, Empire Exhibition', Glasgow May - October 1938, item 41, plate 19
Antiques Magazine, December 1982 volume 122, page 1155
Compendium of Scottish Silver II, R & J Dietert, page 171
Note:
This cream jug is a re-appearance of a long considered and important item of Scottish silver tea ware. First recorded in the seminal 'Empire Exhibition' of 1938, its location has not been known since the 1980's.
The jug is one of the earliest examples of a Scottish silver cream jug. The earliest two, by Colin McKenzie Edinburgh 1713 and Mungo Yorstoun Edinburgh 1714, are both within the National Museums of Scotland collection. There appears to be perhaps only one earlier in the public domain, dated 1718, although records are slightly confused and there may only be two perhaps three of that date.
Whether the earliest example or the second earliest available to private hands the importance cannot be denied. The early survival of tea equipage in Scotland, other than teapots, is remarkably rare. It is not until 10-20 years after the earliest teapot recorded in Scotland that accessories become more common.