Rosewater sprinkler
Category
Silver
Date
1770
Materials
Silver
Measurements
290 mm (H)
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Powis Castle and Garden, Powys
NT 1180723
Summary
A Dressing Table Set. Comprising of a pair of Chinese silver filigree rosewater sprinklers - the round bodies with applied filigree decoration, the necks with leaf-shaped decoration, terminating in a lotus bud, pierced to form the sprinkler; a pair of saucers or stands for the rosewater sprinklers; a pair of boxes; and a two-branch candleholder, all of same silver filigree design. Canton, c.1770. This set is clearly identical with '2 Fillagree Rosewater Bottles and 2 Do Stands to Do/2 Dressing boxes/ A Do Candlestick for 2 Candles' in the 1774 inventory, listed again in the 1775 inventory as 'Two Philigree Rosewater Bottles with Saucers/ Bottles h.11 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. dia. Saucers 7in.dia/ Two Philigree Dressing Boxes h.2 x 6 3/8in.dia/ One Philigree Candlestic h.2 5/8 x 5 7/8 x 4in'. The set must have been made specifically for the Indian market as it has stongly Indianizing features; for this reason it was previously attributed to the Karimnagar workshops of the Deccan. See 'Treasures from India' catalogue pg.127.
Provenance
Part of the indigenous collection of Powis Castle which Edward Henry Herbert, 5th Earl of Powis agreed with the Commissioners of the Inland Revenue to be accepted in part satisfaction to the extent of £158,400 of the Estate duty for which he was accountable in connection with the death of the Right Honourable George Charles, 4th Earl of Powis, on 9th November 1952. Acceptance was effected when the objects were delivered in good condition to the Representative of the Treasury. The contract of the 'Offer of Property in Satisfaction of Estate Duty under the National Land Fund Scheme' was completed on 21st March 1963. This collection of chattels was accepted in lieu of tax by Her Majesty's Treasury and immediately transferred to the ownership of the National Trust on 29th November 1963 as the Treasury saw it desirable that the objects should remain associated with Powis Castle. Agreed by National Trust, Powis Estate Trustees and John George Herbert, 8th Earl of Powis in 25th June 2009 that this item is part of the collection of items transferred to the Treasury in 1963 and therefore owned by the National Trust.