A William IV sterling silver stilton scoop, London 1836 by Mary Chawner

King’s Rocaille pattern, double struck. Engraved with dual crest of a demi-bear rampant, muzzled and collared and an eagle upon a mount, close. Fully marked.

Length – 22.8 cm / 9 inches

Weight – 106 grams / 3.41 ozt

The canteen from which this scoop belongs was sold these rooms 30 Oct 2020, lot 287 (£13,750 incl. premium)

This extremely rare pattern is not recorded in the only comprehensive text on 19^th century flatware patterns; Pickford, I. (1983), Silver Flatware: English, Irish and Scottish, 1660-1980, Suffolk: Antiques Collectors Club. The only published example is a fish slice of 1841 by George Adams, erroneously described as Albert Pattern in Rabinovitch, S. B., (1991), Antique Silver Servers for The Dining Table, Massachusetts, Joslin Hall Publishing, p.191, fig. 91.

Examples of this pattern have been noted by the author made in Paris by Henri-Louis Chenallier (reg. 3^rd Jan 1839), while these examples pre-date the present service by some years it does not exclude the possibility that the design for this flatware originated in France and passed on to Chenallier who was a prolific flatware manufacturer. This pattern belongs to a small group of largely nameless patterns of the 1830’s largely produced in the tenure of Mary Chawner, which include two versions illustrated in Pickford (1983): p. 126 fig. 180 and 183, but also includes the extensive Listowell dessert service of 1837/39 commissioned from Garrard and Co but produced by Mary Chawner for William Hare, 2nd Earl of Listowell (1801–1856), this pattern is of a ribbon and fruiting vine design.

The name for this pattern has been derived from its design features; the overall shape (King’s) and the use of the decorative element of rocaille to the terminal and heel.