Duke of Leeds – A pair of good George III sterling silver basting spoons, London 1817 by William Eley and William Fearn

Duke of Leeds – A pair of good George III sterling silver basting spoons, London 1817 by William Eley and William Fearn

In French Fiddle Thread and Shell pattern, double struck. The reverse engraved with twin crests firstly a tilting-spear broken in three pieces, the head in pale, the others in saltire, banded, secondly a dolphin naiant with motto above Francha Leale Toge, bother surmounted by a Duke’s coronet. Each fully marked. (2)

Length – 31 cm / 12.25 inches

Weight – 430 grams / 13.82 ozt

The first crest is for Darcy as borne by the Earl of Holderness

The second crest is for Godolphin as borne by the Earl of Godolphin

For George William Frederick Osborne, 6th Duke of Leeds (1775 – 1838), styled Earl of Danby until 1789 and Marquess of Carmarthen from 1789 to 1799.

The son of Francis Godolphin Osborne, 5th Duke of Leeds (1750-1799) who married Lady Amelia Darcy (1754-1784) the daughter of Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness (1718-1778). He the son of Thomas Osborne, 4th Duke of Leeds (1713-1789) and Lady Mary Godolphin (1705-1764) the daughter of Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin (1678-1766).

This is an unusual heraldic case where the Duke has chose to use the crest of his mother and paternal grandmother as opposed to that usually afforded to the Osborne Dukes of Leeds; of a heraldic tiger passant.