A George III sterling silver salver, London 1773 by Richard Rugg

of shaped circular form with a shaped cavetto edge and beaded rim with leaf motifs, all raised upon four cast ball and claw feet. The cavetto with embossed decoration of harebells adjoining rosettes. The field with late flat chased decoration of floral bouquets within C scrolls. The centre later engraved with a presentation inscription reading “Presented to Lady Rodd by Miss Tottingham in memory of her two dear sisters Hester and Maria Theresa”, the centre with initials J.R within a badge of a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, reserved with crossed palm branches. Fully marked to the reverse, and with scratch weight 45-18.

Diameter – 35.8 cm / 14.05 inches

Weight – 1363 grams / 43.82 ozt

Lady Jane Rodd (1777-1863), was born in St Helena to James Rennell (1742-1830) and Jane Thackeray (1747-1810), daughter of Thomas Thackeray DD (1693 -1760). On the 5th October 1809 she married Admiral Sir John Tremayne Rodd KCB (1769-1838). Her father was an English geographer, historian and a pioneer of oceanography. Rennell produced some of the first accurate maps of Bengal as well as accurate outlines of India where he served as Surveyor general of Bengal (1764–77) and of BihÄr and Orissa (1767–77). Three editions of Rennell’s Memoir of a Map of Hindoostan appeared between 1783 and 1793. Rennell has been called the Father of Oceanography. In 1830 he was one of the founders of the Royal Geographical Society in London. Lady Rodd devoted several years publishing her father's current charts and revising new editions of his principal works. She lived at 40 Wimpole Street, Cavendish Square, London, where upon her death her estate was valued at under £35,000. A portrait miniature of her exists by Sir William John Newton (active 1785-1869).

The Tottingham family refers to the three daughters, Hester (1778-1857), Maria Theresa (1781-1857) and Jane Mary (1783-1867), of John Tottingham (1735-1803) and Mary Theresa (c.1753 – 1833). John who was born in St Botolph, Aldersgate, City of London, England had by about 1766 been in the employ of the East India Company, later as a Lieutenant colonel. India is where three of their four children were born, with Jane Mary born in London in 1783.

The engraving on this salver, which would have been done between 1857-63, shows a link between two Indian Colonial families, the Tottingham’s and the Rennell’s, some 70 years after their families had respectively left India.