A GEORGE III SILVER EPERGNE

The crests found on this epergne are that of Leigh and White, for Edward Leigh White (1876 – 1920). The son of Lady Elizabeth White Leigh (1847 – 1880) and Egerton Leigh, Edward inherited Bantry House, the seat of the Earls of Bantry which became extinct in 1884 upon the death of his uncle William, Third Earl of Bantry (1801 – 1884). This epergne was likely gifted to Edward on the occasion of this inheritance in 1897, at which point he added the surname White to his name.

Arthur Guinness (1840 – 1915), 1st Baron Ardilaun, was born in Raheny outside of Dublin, the eldest son of Sir Benjamin Guinness (1798 – 1868), 1st Baronet, and great-grandson of Arthur Guinness (1725 – 1803), the founder of the family’s Guinness brewing business. Arthur attended Eton and Trinity College Dublin before succeeding his father as second Baronet in 1868, and being raised to the peerage as Baron Ardilaun of Ashford in County Galway in 1880, following his withdrawal from the Guinness company in 1876. In 1871, Lord Ardilaun married Lady Olivia Hedges-White, the daughter of William, Third Earl of Bantry. Though the couple was childless, Lord Ardilaun was named as godfather to his nephew Edward Leigh White, as stated in the presentation inscription on the present lot.