A George III Scottish sterling silver coffee pot, Edinburgh 1769 by James Gilliland (1721-91, reg. 1748)

Of conventional baluster tapering form, on a circular stepped foot, the body later Victorian decorated with embossed flower heads all against a matted ground, with rocaille C scrolls to one side with a bird perched atop, the other with a rocaille C scroll cartouche engraved with a crest of a falcon rising Or, below a baron’s coronet. The curved spout with shell terminal, and cast and chased rocaille junction, opposite a later wooden C scroll handle with chased rocaille and downward spool junction. The hinged domed lid similarly later decorated surmounted by a stylised cauliflower finial atop a chased calyx. Fully marked underneath, the lid unmarked.

Height – 20.5 cm / 10 inches

Weight – 897 grams / 28.84 ozt

The crest and coronet are possibly for a Lord St John, as heir to an Earl of Wiltshire who is an heir to the Marquess of Winchester (est. 1551), or it is a version for the Baron’s St John Blesto (est. 1559).

James Gilliland also known as James Gisland or James Gillieland Provenance – Christie’s South Kensington, Property from the Collection of The Late The Hon. Mrs. Angela Lascelles, 28 Oct 2007, Lot 67 (£1,125 incl. premium)

Angela Estree Lyssod D'Arcy Lascelles née Dowding (1919-2007) was a British actress and a relative of the British Royal Family. She was the first wife of The Honourable Gerald Lascelles, the second son of Princess Mary, the Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood: A wedding gift from Lord and Lady Weir, 15 July 1952. 12 Albion Mews, Bayswater, W6, 1952-1956. Fort Belvedere, Runnymede, Surrey, 1956-1976. Virginia Water Cottage, Windsor Great Park, Berkshire.

Andrew Milne Collection