Theo Raidan
Department Assistant
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The Property of a Private Collector
Lot 49
A pair of George III gold sugar tongs circa 1760, unmarked
5 July 2024, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond Street£5,000 - £8,000
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Ellis Finch
Head of Knightsbridge Silver Department
A pair of George III gold sugar tongs
circa 1760, unmarked
Of scissor form, scroll handles with finger loops, scroll stems with shell terminals, the circular centre with engraved crest a demi boar rampant collared all proper and belongs to a branch of the GREGORY family, length 12cm, weight 47.5gms.
Of scissor form, scroll handles with finger loops, scroll stems with shell terminals, the circular centre with engraved crest a demi boar rampant collared all proper and belongs to a branch of the GREGORY family, length 12cm, weight 47.5gms.
Footnotes
Provenance:
Magnificent Gold; Christie's London, 20 November 2001, lot 8
From the collection of English Gold formed by the late Nathaniel Mayer Victor, 3rd Baron Rothschild (1910-1990)
Exhibited:
London, Victoria and Albert Museum, 1997-2000
Literature:
A. Grimwade, 'A New List of Old English Gold Plate', The Connoisseur, pt. III, p. 86
M. Clayton, The Collector's Dictionary of the Silver and Gold of Great Britain and North America, London, 1985, p. 382
The Gregory Crest
Notably the principal family appear to be from Leicestershire, with other family groups appearing at Woolhope, Herefordshire; Styvechall, Warwickshire and Kent.
The arms and crest of the GREGORY family had been assumed for many generations and was only circa 1600 confirmed, as a result of the Herald's visitation, to the family at Styvechall.
In the 2001 catalogue 'Magnificent Gold', the Gregory branch of the family is identified as that of Styvechale, Warwickshire and that these these sugar-tongs were likely made for either Arthur Gregory (1716-1791) or one of his seven sons.
Sugar Tongs
Gold sugar-tongs are exceptionally rare; a similar pair by John Wirgman, circa 1750, is illustrated in A. Grimwade, op. cit., pt. 2, p. 16. Two further pairs of gold sugar-tongs, each with matching teaspoons, are known; one set is now in the Gilbert Collection, Somerset House, London (illustrated in T. Schroder, The Gilbert Collection of Gold and Silver, Los Angeles, 1988, cat. no. 77). The other set was sold Christie's New York, 14 April 1994, lot 448.
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