Oliver Cornish
Sale Coordinator for Furniture, Sculpture, Rugs & Tapestries
Lot 11
A rare and impressive Charles II leaded bronze 'York' mortar Made for Roger Warde, apothecary, and dated 1684, together with a large associated cast iron pestle
3 December 2025, 13:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street£800 - £1,200
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Helena Gumley
Head of Sale Carpets and Tapestries
A rare and impressive Charles II leaded bronze 'York' mortar
Made for Roger Warde, apothecary, and dated 1684, together with a large associated cast iron pestle
The mortar of typical moulded flared form, the plain rim above a narrow band cast with an inscription between fleur-de-lys markers marked ROGER WARDE APOTHECARY IN YORK 1684 and a wide band cast with a repeating pattern of delicate fleur-de-lys and flower heads above interlaced upright and inverts arches, the foot with stepped recessed flange, 29cm high, 37cm diameter overall approximately, the pestle, 57cm long overall approximately
The mortar of typical moulded flared form, the plain rim above a narrow band cast with an inscription between fleur-de-lys markers marked ROGER WARDE APOTHECARY IN YORK 1684 and a wide band cast with a repeating pattern of delicate fleur-de-lys and flower heads above interlaced upright and inverts arches, the foot with stepped recessed flange, 29cm high, 37cm diameter overall approximately, the pestle, 57cm long overall approximately
Footnotes
Provenance
Hutton Collection
Further lots from the Hutton collection of apothecary related items including bronze mortars and glass chemist jars and covers and carboys will be offered in the Bonhams online Connoisseurs Library sale at our Knightsbridge galleries which opens for bidding on the 9th February.
For a Charles II leaded bronze mortar of comparable size sold in these rooms, made for Thomas Rogers and cast by Samuel Smith of York (fl. 1672–1709), formerly in the John Fardon Collection, sold at Christie's, 1 May 1996, lot 235, and purchased by Peter Hornsby, 2 March 1996, see Bonhams Oxford, The Oak Interior, 21–22 January 2015, lot 63.
In the footnote for the comparable mortar in the 1996 Christie's catalogue, discussion is made of the Smith family of founders working in York in the late 17th century. However, the ownership of the mortar appears more contentious, as two individuals named Thomas Rogers are recorded as apothecaries working in the West Yorkshire area at that time.
Importantly, this footnote also notes that the Thomas Rogers mentioned in the inscription was not a native of York, or even of Yorkshire, demonstrating that mortars were sometimes commissioned from founders outside the buyer's locality.
As an example supporting this theory, reference is made to a mortar cast for Roger Warde, an apothecary of York, by the Whitechapel Foundry in London.
It therefore appears possible that offered lot may have also been commissioned by the same Roger Warde. However, given that the mortar is unmarked, it may have been cast more locally, in or near York, rather than in London at the Whitechapel foundry.
Related literature
M. Finlay, English Decorated Bronze Mortars & Their Makers (2010)