A GEORGE III SILVER-GILT TEA-URN

The present tea-urn represents an outstanding example of the English goldsmiths' interpretation of the French classical style of the Regency period. Inspired by recent archaeological discoveries and artefacts brought to England and France from the Grand Tour, no less than Napoleon's campaign on the Nile, a hybrid form of decoration for silver and furnishings arose. This included Roman, Egyptian and ancient Greek references and a sense of formality, proportion and balance as contrasted with the asymmetrical and scrolling rococo. Napoleon adopted the classical style to further his Imperial identity and increase his perceived links with Republican Rome.

In England, the classical or Regency style developed in parallel with the French Imperial style and remarkable similarities may be seen in contemporary pieces. The influence on English silver of French style at the highest levels of craftsmanship may be illustrated by the designs of Jean-Jacques Boileau and the work of Jean-Baptiste-Claude Odiot and Henri Auguste. The latter's work was well known in England and collected by such principal antiquaries as William Beckford. Boileau was brought to England to assist in the decoration of the Prince of Wales' Carlton House, and his designs provided inspiration particularly for the Royal Goldsmiths' Rundell Bridge and Rundell.