A William III Britannia standard silver monteith, London 1701 by Thomas Parr I

of hemi-spherical form upon a gadrooned spreading circular foot. The uppers section with a removable glass holder, with a castellated Baroque scroll rim terminating in cherub head masks. Flanked either side by opposable twin scroll handles with cast and applied grotesque mask junctions flanked by wings. The body with fluted decoration and a textured band to upper section, the front with an oval cartouche flanked by large C scrolls draping laurel leaves with a scallop shell below and above, all reserved with chased fish scales. The cartouche engraved with a contemporaneous mirror cypher possibly reading JM^cC, within a scrollwork architrave flanked by urns and foliate scrolls reserved with rustication. Gilt interior. Fully marked to body and to bezel of rim, makers mark only to each handle.

Diameter –27 cm / 10.6 inches

Height – 20.5 cm / 8.05 inches

Weight – 1641 grams / 52.76 ozt

Provenance:

Probably E. Marshall Hall, Esq. K.C. of 3 Temple Garden, E.C.

Christie's London, 28 May 1907, lot 71 (£190 to Heigham)

Christie's London, 4 June 2013, lot 345

Literature (listed):

Lee, G., (1978), British Silver Monteith Bowls including American and European Examples, Surrey: Byfleet, p. 83, no. 146.

Thomas Parr, an important component of English goldsmithing at the turn of the 18^th century, was apprenticed to Simon Noyes (d.c.1689), and it is likely eventually would take on the running of the Noyes family business after his former master’s widow Alice's tenure as head of the workshop. Both the Noyes workshop and Parr, whom would have registered his Britannia Standard mark in April of 1697, operated from Wood Street. Parr would have been dead before the 20^th of June 1728 when his widow Sarah registers her mark.