A large Victorian silver two-handled tea tray, Richard West Smith for Smith & Gamble, Dublin, 1844

the border heavily cast, pierced and chased with four hippocampi, masks of Neptune and Galatea flanked by shells, scrolls, flowers and bunches of grapes above panel supports, the handles in the form of pairs of dolphins, engraved with a coat-of-arms, stratch weight '239 oz " 8 dwt'

Sotheby's, London, 10 March 1994, lot 154
Private Collection

One dent and surface mark in the central section, good clear hallmarks, the flat-chased decoration is still crisp, overall good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The arms are probably those of Crawfurd.

The maker’s mark RS on this tray has been ascribed by Jackson (1989 edition, p. 645) to R. Smith and by Douglas Bennett  (Irish Georgian Silver, London, 1972, pp. 329 and 346, no. 222) to Robert W. Smith of Smith & Gamble. The partners in that firm, sometime trading from various different addresses in Dublin, however, were Richard West Smith, a silversmith, and James Gamble, a jeweller.

The partnership between Smith and Gamble appears to have begun about 1826 and ended in 1846/47 when both partners were declared bankrupt. Whereas nothing further is heard of Gamble, Smith soon reinvented himself as an ‘Electro Plater, Gold and Silversmith’ (The Belfast News-Letter, Belfast, Tuesday, 26 June 1849, p. 2f).

Smith & Gamble employed on at least once occasion the services Peter Hughes, a well-known local silver chaser. In 1843 he was responsible for decorating a silver presentation claret jug; the rich chasing included a lyre in a wreath of shamrocks, ‘in which the artist has ingeniously introduced the initials of his name (P.H.) on the side leaves of a shamrock, produced by a punch made for the purpose.’ (The Freeman’s Journal and Daily Commercial Advertiser, Dublin, Wednesday, 8 November 1843, p. 3b) Although little is known of Hughes, there are a number of references to him in the 1840s as being a prominent member of the Operative Society for the Promotion of Irish Manufacture.

Richard West Smith’s dates are at present unknown, but he and his wife Mary Ann had several children, two of whom went to Australia: a son, also Richard West Smith (1832?-1857) was briefly proprietor of the Keilor Hotel, Keilor, near Melbourne; and his third daughter, Miabella Catherine, who was married on 13 June 1854 at St. Francis’s Cathedral, Melbourne to William Alker, a merchant. Another son, Charles Weber Smith died in Dublin on 7 July 1892.