The traditional academic collector will find pieces of early silverware such as the Brigadier Peter Acland Collection of 16th and 17th century West Country Apostle spoons. Elsewhere we have pieces from across the world ranging from Britain, France, Germany, Russia and Ottoman Turkey to the Americas. The sale includes pieces by some of the world’s most famous silver makers including Paul Storr, John Wakelin & William Taylor, Pavel Ovchinnikov, Sebastian Garrard and Tiffany & Co.

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well."

~ Virginia Woolf

With her trademark creativity for designing elegant table settings Miranda has effortlessly combined old and new in a perfect statement of modern luxury, mixing wonderful procelain dinner servies from Herend, Hermès, Rosenthal, Richard Ginori and Meissen with luxury brand glass from Baccarat and St Louis amongst traditional period and 20th century silverware.

"Be able to set a table so that you feel like you're dining, not just sitting and eating."

~ Marilyn Vos Savant

Some of the pieces in this sale have languished in dark storerooms for many years so it has been exciting and a privilege to bring them back into the daylight to be beautiful and relevant once more. In researching each piece we have also been able to rediscover the people and stories behind them. There are several such single owner collections included in the sale.

The Davies-Cooke Collection from Gwysaney Hall (Lots 1-22)

Gwysaney Hall is a Jacobean house situated between Mold and Northop in North Wales. The house and its contents have a direct family ancestry dating back to the early 17th century, passing through the generations for four centuries. On 21st May 1943 Country Life wrote, ‘The story of Gwysaney’s ups and downs - built under James I, battered by the Roundheads, little valued and deserted by the family for 200 years, then repaired, and now a cherished home again - is typical of many an old house. So are its contents, with the ancestral portraits of two families and the survivals of their loved possessions.’

The Brigadier Peter Acland Collection of Early West Country Spoons (Lots 48-73)

The Private Collection of a Lancashire Estate (Lots 75-104)

Highlights from this collection include a comprehensive collection of 17th and 18th century tankards (Lots 75-88), as well as two pieces by the master silversmith Paul Storr, who was best known for his exquisite tableware and Royal commissions.

The Worshipful Company of Musicians Collection of Trophy Cups (Lots 144-168)

In 1604 James I granted a Royal Charter to the Musician’s Livery Company, whose roots date back to at least 1350. Dedicated to the Performing Arts, the company today supports young and early career musicians through the Musicians Company Charity, offering scholarships, bursaries and awards to talented young artists to study at leading conservatoires and universities. The sale of these historic trophy cups offered here is to help raise funds for the company to continue its charitable causes in supporting young musicians and the company’s Young Artists Programmes. Highlights from this collection include pieces by Sebastian Garrard (Lots 161-165)

A Private Collection of Russian Cloisonné Enamels (Lots 202-227)

Fine Silver and Objects of Vertu from the Astor Family at Cliveden, thence by Descent (Lots 202-227)

Cliveden House is world famous for its role in significant moments of British history from the 18th to the 20th centuries, and its association with the leading families of the period, including the Astor Family. In 1893, the house and estate was sold to the American politician, hotelier and philanthropist William Waldorf Astor, later 1st Viscount Astor (1848-1919). It was subsequently given to to his eldest son, Waldorf Astor, later 2nd Viscount Astor, as wedding gift on his marriage to fellow American born Nancy Witcher Langhorne. Cliveden was used by Waldorf and Nancy for lavish entertaining, and making the house the destination for politicians, film stars, world leaders, writers and artists. The wonderful and eclectic collection offered here includes many notable pieces as well as discoveries, many with hugely important historical associations.

Other Highlights

Research has led us to discover that Lot 35, an early 19th century desk set has associations to the Dutch Royal family. It comes in a fitted velvet case featuring an armorial beneath a sovereign prince's coronet and motto Je Maintienderai in silver thread of Willem Frederik (1772-1743). He was born in The Hague, the son of Willem V (1748-1806) Prince of Orange and last stadholder of the Dutch Republic, and Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia (1751-1820). Willem Frederik was Sovereign Prince of the United Netherlands from 1813 until 1815 when he proclaimed himself Willem I, King of the Netherlands following the defeat of Napoleon. He also became Grand Duke of Luxemburg in 1815. He ruled until 1840 when he abdicated following the dissolution of the United Kingdom of The Netherlands in 1839.

Finally, the star of the sale is Lot 256, a French silver wine cistern. This piece is unassayed, with no indications or marks that it is silver - even the maker's mark is hidden. It was only found when the whole piece was taken apart. Our research has found it to be crafted by the wonderfully talented Émile Hugo, a noted French silversmith of excellent repute as a craftsman, working between 1853 and 1880. Born in 1824, he trained under his father, the silversmith André-Xavier Hugo. He has two known registered marks, one of 1853 trading at 18 rue de Quatre-Fils, and another mark of 1859-2 registered at 12 rue Saint-Gilles in Paris. Émile Hugo passed his business on the the highly talented young silversmith Edmond Tetard in 1880.

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Auction Details

Tuesday 23 September 2025, 10.30am BST
Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE

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VIEWING:

• Viewing in London (highlights):
  • Tuesday 9 September: 10am-4pm
  • Wednesday 10 September: 10am-4pm
• Viewing in Newbury (full sale):
  • Thursday 18 September: 10am-4pm
  • Friday 19 September: 10am-4pm
  • Sunday 21 September: 10am-3pm
  • Monday 22 September: 10am-4pm

Further information:
General enquiries: + 44 (0) 1635 553 553 | jsw@dreweatts.com
Press enquiries: press@dreweatts.com

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