A set of four German silver salvers with the arms of George Louis Elector of Hanover, later George I King of Great Britain and Ireland

The lots 1134 to 1145 are matching lots

These salvers formed part of the Buffet plate of what was known in the 1747 inventory as the D service. They are recorded under the heading for Buffet silver as 12 Credentz-Teller 67 4 7/8 (the weight as 67 marks 4 7/8 lots). There were still 12 existing in 1880 and four of these were sold in 1923/24 (Niedersächsisches Landesarchiv-Hauptstaatsarchiv Hannover NLA-HStAH, Dep. 103, XXI, Nr. 682, p. 28; ibid, Nr. 711, vol. I, fol. 6, no. 14).

The service D, big enough for three tables was an amalgamation of two services, the 1^st and the Campagne (for travelling in the country). This is the reason these salvers have S.I in addition to the weight engraved on the back. The 1^st and the Campagne services were put together because each was too big for one table yet not big enough for two and because they shared the same armorials and initials G(eorge) L(ouis) C(hurfürst) (NLA-HStAH, Dep. 103, XXI, Nr. 682, pp. 167-169). The arms are those of George Louis Elector of Hanover, later George I, King of Great Britain and Ireland (1660-1714), relevant for a short period between 1692 when his father was created first Elector of Hanover and 1708 when George Louis was himself introduced to the college of Electors. Additions were made to this service and service E in 1724/25 and these later pieces were engraved with the same armorials by this time out of date. (see lot number 1142)

The mark DD crowned
The mark DD crowned (W. Scheffler, Goldschmiede Niedersachens, Vol.II, Berlin, 1965, no.1421) an unidentified additional mark found on many pieces of Royal Hanoverian plate made in Hanover and Osnabrück. It has been suggested the mark refers to Lewin Dedeke (1660-1733) master in Celle, which town became part of the lands of George Louis Elector of Hanover, later George I in 1705 on the death of his father–in-law George William Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg in Calenberg and Grubenhagen, - Saxe-Lauenburg,- Celle (1624-1705). George William was Duke in Calenberg only til 1665, than he moved to Celle to reign the principality Lüneburg, whereas Calenberg and Grubenhagen were taken over by Johann Friedrich.

Dedeke became Royal Goldsmith to the court of Hanover in 1697, see lot number 1134 to 1137; 1139 to 1141. For the Silberkammer in Hannover a silver service for 522 Thaler delivered Dedeke in 1709/10 (W. Scheffler, Goldschmiede Niedersachens, Vol.I, Berlin, 1965, p.250 3v). It is recorded that he worked together with the Royal Goldsmith Conrad Hölling in 1706/7 and 1726/27 and a co-worker of Dedeke was the Hanover master Conrad Hermann Mundt ((W. Scheffler, Goldschmiede Niedersachens, Vol.I, Berlin, 1965, 110a) silversmith who manufactured candlesticks for George Louis. It is recorded that Johann Wilhelm Voigt I worked for Ernest Agustus, Prince Bishop of Osnabrück, see W. Scheffler, Goldschmiede Niedersachens, Vol.II, Berlin, 1965, no. 57 and p.1006. For silver struck with DD crowned, now offered for sale see lotnumbers 1115 to 1132; 1138 and 1142.Hermann Sander, court goldsmith in Celle, colleague of Conrad Hölling in Hannover 1699/1700 making a silver service for 6095 Thlr. without the silver. Further deliveries 1708/09 and 1709/10. (Eduard Schuster, Kunst und Künstler in den Fürstenthümern Calenberg und Lüneburg in der Zeit von 1636 bis 1727, Hannover/Leipzig 1905, p. 218)
The inventory of Osnabrück goldsmith names given in the silver inventory of Ernest August II (1674-1728) Acta betreffend: Inventarium der Silbergeräthe Bischofs Ernst August II 1716 bis 1723 (Niedersächsisches Landesarchiv-Staatsarchiv Osnabrück Rep. 100, Abschnitt 17, Nr. 26) two other silversmith are mentioned. Both, Johann Hinrich Prüsmann and Johan Wilhelm Morell are recorded by Scheffler 61a and 62. According the inventory of Ernest Augustus the delivered plates and also struck with the mark DD with crown (see lotnumber1118, 1127, 1115 and 1116)

Detail
-For a portrait of George Louis Elector of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick and Lüneberg, later George I King of Great Britain and Ireland, Elector of Hanover (1660–1727) , After Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt., please see lot number 120.

The Royal Hanover silver services
The first full surviving record of the Hanover court silver, the inventory of 1747, records six different silver services amongst the complete royal plate. The sizes of these were measured by how many tables they could furnish. A complete table was the minimum. The table silver which included plates, dishes, knives and forks, table candlesticks, castors, sauceboats etc. was complemented by its own buffet silver: salvers, wine fountain and cistern (Fontaine und Schweng Kessel), ewers and basins etc. The table and buffet silver together comprised the service, which was distinct from many other equally distinct types of silver such as chamber silver or tea implements. The 1747 inventory was created to modernise the previous record of 1739 which in its turn updated the inventory of 1727/28. This latter inventory made on the instructions of George II following the death of his father George I together with the Additamentum of 1730, had become unwieldy due to lack of descriptions, meltings and additions. The Additamentum was created to deal with a succession of deaths, listed various inheritances of George II including the Reise Argenterie, other silver from his father George I (1660-1727); his mother Sophie Dorothea Princess von Ahlden (1666-1726); his uncle Ernst August Bishop of Osnabrück (1674-1728) and the silver furnishings of his grandmother Electress Sophie (1630-1714). In 1730, the Hanoverian court silver, the 1727/28 and the Additamentum combined, amounted to 19. 493 marcs 1 15/16 lot in weight, or approximately ca. 4.581 kilos (Niedersächsisches Landesarchiv-Hauptstaatsarchiv Hannover, NLA-HStAH, Dep. 103, XXI, Nr. 682; Dep. 103, IV, Nr. 172).

As well as the record being modernised in 1739 the silver itself was repaired and improved, being put in good order as the record neatly states – in the inventory as well as in the silver vault. The previous names for the various services which had been an amalgam of numbers such as the 1^st or 2^nd service, the 4^th and 5^th service, and letters such as the Osnabrück A, B and C services were rationalized into six letters: A-F (NLA-HStAH, Dep. 103, XXI, Nr. 682, p. 161-174).

The A service for one table was composed of what was known as the Osnabrück A service. The Osnabrück B service was not big enough for one table and so was divided up between the A, the C and the F services.
The Osnabrück silver was brought to Hanover in a slightly disorganised rush and in six fir chests following the death of George I’s brother Ernst August (1674-1728), Duke of York, since 1716 Bishop of Osnabrück, in August 1728. (NLA-HStAH, Dep. 103, XXI, Nr. 682, p. 161; Dep. 84 B Nr. 1163)
It consisted in three services of table and buffet silver, called A, B and C, as well as in silver furniture and lighting objects. The 15-lötig service A included pieces made before Ernst August’s move to Osnabrück in 1716 by the Hanoverian court goldsmiths Hölling, Huntemann (Hanover) and Sander (Celle) between – if dated in the inventory – 1709 and 1716 whereas the other part was executed from 1716 until 1727 mostly by the Osnabrück goldsmith Voigt. Some knifes, forks and spoons were sent from England in 1727. The service B, only 12-lötig, again included earlier pieces – if as dated – from 1708 to 1716, made by the goldsmiths Hölling, Dedeke, Huntemann, Mundt who worked for the Hanoverian court. Comprising also a chandelier and sconces, the silver listed as S. B. was perhaps the furnishings that Ernst August possessed before he became Bishop. In the following years parts of this service were spent to be reworked for the A service and the third service C. The Service C, again 15lötig, was only started in 1717, in the year after the election of Ernst August, and added until the death of the Bishop in 1728. (NLA-Staatsarchiv Osnabrück, Rep. 100, Abschnitt 17, Nr. 26).

The B service for one table consisted of what was known as the English service in 1728 and thereafter simply the B service. It had been delivered to Hanover from England on three occasions in July, September, and June 1720/23. According to notes written in 1923, in the inventory of 1760 much of this service, which was used by the King, was spent (melted) to provide 15-lothig standard silver for George III’s neo classical service of the 1780’s made by Robert-Joseph Auguste and others in Paris, and Frantz Peter Bunsen and others in Hanover. Sometime before 1841 what remained of the B service was divided up amongst other services and was replaced as service B by the Hardenberg service (previously service G). (NLA-HStAH, Dep. 103, XXI, Nr. 683)

The C service for two tables was the Osnabrück C service with additions as has already been said from the Osnabrück B, which was too small to stand alone. The Osnabrück Service C was mostly executed by the Osnabrück goldsmith Vogdt, single elements by Morell and Prüsmann. The preservation of the complete run of 12 dozen dinner plates represents an extraordinary survival. (see lot numbers; 1115,1116,1117 to 1132)

The service D for three tables was an amalgamation of two services, the 1^st and the Campagne (for travelling in the country). They were put together because each was too big for one table yet not big enough for two and because they shared the same armorials and initials G(eorge) L(ouis) C(hurfürst). The arms are those of George Louis Elector of Hanover, later George I, King of Great Britain and Ireland (1660-1714), relevant for a short period between 1692 when his father was created first Elector of Hanover and 1708, when George Louis was himself introduced to the college of Electors. Additions were made to this and the next service in 1724/25 and these pieces were engraved with the same armorials, by this time out of date.

Service E for five tables was called the 2^nd service in the inventory of 1728. It was the same as service D, except that the latter had rims to the dishes and plates and the armorials were without palm leaf borders.
(1^st  service see lot numbers 1134 to 1137; 1141 and 1142 and 1175)
(2^nd service see lot numbers 1133; 1138 to 1140; 1143 to 1145)

The “Kammerrechnungen”, account books are not very explicit about the deliveries of the gold- and silversmiths to the Hanoverian court. In 1699/1700, court goldsmith Conrad Hölling in Hannover and goldsmith Hermann Sander from Celle were paid circa 5984 and 6095 Taler for a new service, excluding the silver, which was provided from the silver vault. The engravers Wercell and Huber received 238 Taler for engraving arms and numbers. In 1708/1709 Sander executed silver bottles, Hölling ewers and basins, thereafter serving dishes in different sizes, whereas Sander made six-dozen plates, “Anrichtsteller” in two sizes and “commentgen”, including engraved arms. Goldsmith Levin Dedeke from Celle delivered four big wine bottles, spoons, forks and knives, six of each, engraved by Wercell. Dedeke’s travelling expenses were refunded. In 1709/10 Dedeke executed six  “Credenz Teller” (salvers), a centrepiece consisting of eight pieces, serving spoons, eight candlesticks, knives, forks, spoons, 18 of each, six salts, six snuffers, four ring stands, as well as knives, forks, spoons, marrow scoops and salts, six of each, in gilt silver, all engraved with coats-of- arms. Sander delivered a cistern “Schwengkessel” and wine fountain “Fontaine” as well as “entremets” plates. Court goldsmith Hölling delivered eight lids for dishes and “entremets” plates.
Apparently, the commissions for new silver services were divided between these goldsmiths in order to save time. It is recorded that in 1708 the goldsmiths did not return the full 15-lötig value which they had received in old silver from the silver vault for new serving dishes, plates etc. Their explanation for returning 2 to 4 gram less was the loss of silver during the production process.
On 9/20. (Julian/Gregorian Calender) October 1724, George I wanted to extend the 1^st and the 2^nd silver service. As 6.000 Taler was not enough, the King agreed with a second estimate of 8.659 Taler two days later. This comprised the melting of old 12-lötig silver and the amelioration to 15-lötig silver from the mines in the Harzmountains and the engraving of the coat of arms:  the 1^st service without, the 2^nd service with “Crantz”, palm leave borders. According to the account of 1726/27, 12.186 was spent in the end. Court goldsmith Diester executed dishes, plates and commentgens, punch spoons, dessert plates, candlesticks, beakers and an altar jug. Court goldsmith Dedeke delivered knives, forks, spoons, candlesticks, cistern and wine fountain, a centrepiece and wine bottles. Court goldsmith Conrad Hermann Mund was involved with candlesticks, dishes, bordaloos. The engravers Eland and Esau were responsible for engraving the coats-of-arms.
(NLA-HStAH, 76 c A, Nr. 199, p. 187; Nr. 233, pp. 246-248; Nr. 234, p. 239-241; Nr. 250, p. 271-276; Dep. 103, IV, Nr. 172; see Eduard Schuster, Kunst und Künstler in den Fürstenthümern Calenberg und Lüneburg in der Zeit von 1636 bis 1727, Hannover/Leipzig 1905, p. 216-219)

Service F was mostly composed of 12 löthig silver (about 750 standard) used for hunts, which came from the services 4 and 5 of the estate of Ernest Augustus Elector of Hanover (1629-1698). Most of this stock was melted, ameliorated and used in other services. (12 löthig standard was raised to 15-löthig or sterling equivalent which, although an unusually high standard for silver made in Hanover was the normal standard for Hanoverian royal silver).

Another service existed in the vaults but for a while only discretely on paper. In the 1747 inventory only its weight of 2113 marcs 7 ½ lot (about 486 kilos) of silver and 29 marcs 3 5/8 lot (about 6.7 kilos) of gold was inserted between pages 156 and 157. It was listed entirely in 1760, but still only in a secondary inventory and was not given a designated letter until 1789 when it became service F, with only the mention that it had come from England in 1738. This was the service made in London in and around 1717 for George II then Prince of Wales, and which had been brought back to Hanover in secret. In January 1738 careful instructions were given to the Lord Chamberlain in Hanover, von Reden on how to receive the 6 chests and two cases which would arrive at the port of Harburg aboard the vessel Hoffnung. A servant noted for his discretion was required to meet the shipment and ironically the choice fell on Johan Georg Lax who was a trumpeter. The Lord Chamberlain gave Lax nervous instructions as to how each stage of the assignment should be dealt with, how the post (fastest) horses were to be taken and how Lax who ended up spending about 3 weeks waiting in Harburg was not to draw attention to himself. Lax did return to Hanover safely with the chests on 14 March and the silver was unpacked and checked by Küchen Schreiber Bötticher and Hoff-Commissarius Bartels, who noted that a box covered with red leather which should contain six pieces of a communion set could not be opened. (See lot number 1148).This service was reduced in the 1770’s to provide high standard (15 löthig) metal for the Auguste service. (See lot numbers 1149 to 1157).

The French service by Robert-Joseph Auguste was one of two major additions to the services added towards the end of the 18^th century. In 1779 an old service with shell-interrupted bound reeded rims made by Germain in Paris in 1744 (Alheidis von Rohr, `Centnerschwer’ Silber des hannoverschen Hofes, Weltkunst 3/1999, p. 468) was purchased from the widow of the Geheime Rat Karl Friedrich von Hardenberg, who had been a Hanoverian diplomat in Paris in 1742 (one plate from this service was made by Jacques Nicolas Roettiers, also 1744). It was modernised with additions, around the time of its purchase and on into the 19^th century. This was named the G service in 1789 when some rearranging of the service titles was made. Services BCDE remained as they had been. The English silver incorporating the Prince of Wales service mentioned above became service F. The dessert silver was given its own service title H. The remaining silver from old service A was to be divided up amongst other services at the discretion of the Lord Chamberlain and the new French service was to be given the title of Service A instead. (NLA-HStAH, Dep. 103, IV, 175, 176/1)

While Ignaz Joseph and Ignaz Sebastian Würth in Vienna and Luigi Valadier in Rome provided competing designs in 1772 and 1773, the commission for the non-German part of what was to become the A service was given to Robert-Joseph Auguste in Paris. His work was previously known to George III having made a pair of wine coolers for the King’s tutor and friend Simon Ist Earl Harcourt in 1766/67. Part of the cost of financing the service, much higher in Paris than in Hanover where the 15 löthig standard silver could come from existing stock, was paid for from interest on investing part of the silver treasure. This coincided with an urgent need of the King’s Hanoverian subjects for food and seed corn following crop failure in the years following the end of the Seven-years war. The first melting appears to have been in 1768 but it was not until the end of 1772 that the first of 15 annual interest payment was received. A file in the Hanoverian state archive concerning the transfer of the silver from Hanover to London and back again in 1803-16 contains a copy of an order from George III dated 22 January 1773 which reads in translation: ….We have decided to make a change regarding our Hanover court silver and to give old and unusable silver of about 80,000 Reichstaler to Our "Rent-Cammer" (administration of the finances) to be partly minted/coined partly melted into ingots and sold and to make the Rent-Cammer pay interest of 3 % for the money in order to acquire a complete and "neu faconiertes" (contemporary) dinner service made out of further old silver while the costs for making should be payed from the interest …

……The Lord Chamberlain has given away silver of 85.529 Taler 27 Mariengroschen which was minted and sold and which We ordered Our Royal Electoral Rent-Cammer use to supply Our subjects after two years of crop failure with bread and seed corn. Plates were added to the service by the Hanover court silversmith Frantz Peter Bunsen in 1786, and further additions were made until about 1825. (See lot numbers 1185 to 1194) (NLA-HStAH, Dep. 103, IV, Nr. 196)

Sotheby’s gratefully thanks Dr. Lorenz Seelig, Munich, for providing us with the opportunity to use his unpublished work on the Auguste-service.