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Article: A service for wine. (Macclesfield silver)
- Article from:
- The Magazine Antiques
- Article date:
- June 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Brant Publications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The unique service for wine illustrated in Plate II is the ultimate expression of baroque taste and extravagance, chosen by a newly ennobled politician as a symbol of his new status at the peak of English society. The fountain, cistern, and cooler bear the arms and crest of Thomas Parker, first earl of Macclesfield [ILLUSTRATION FOR PL. I OMITTED]. The service was made in the London workshop of Anthony Nelme in Britannia standard silver with the date letter for 1719/20.
Massive, theatrical silver displayed in the dining room was familiar from the Middle Ages onward, but ensembles on this scale and in a matching design took the concept to greater heights. The ...