SUNRISE, FL – Englishman Paul Storr (1770-1844) has been called the greatest silversmith of the 19th century. Hill Auction Gallery has given its Wednesday, October 9 sale the one-word title EPIC. It can do that in good conscience because the lineup contains no fewer than seven works of silver by Storr. The sale catalog is now open for bidding and review at LiveAuctioneers.
Storr’s career aligns with the English Regency period, the time in which the popular Netflix series Bridgerton is set. While his works are too precious to appear as part of the set dressing for the show, its characters would have owned, and aspired to own, silver bearing his stamp.
Four of the seven Storr pieces on offer share the individual estimate of $20,000-$40,000, while the other three are each estimated at $10,000-$20,000.
Of particular note is a lavish circa-1822 George IV covered silver bowl, bearing a plaque depicting a scene of Jupiter, mythological Roman king of the gods, expelling the vices. An inscription on the base rim of the bowl reads: ‘Presented to Sir Thomas Le Breton on his retiring from the Office of Bailiff of Jersey by one hundred and seventy Gentlemen of that Island, a feeble, but sincere testimony of their respect, esteem, and attachment, 1832.’
Jersey lies off the coast of England and is the southernmost of the Channel Islands. As Bailiff of Jersey, Le Breton served as its chief justice and presided over the island’s parliament, the States Assembly. The image of Jupiter, a righteous leader deity who witnessed oaths and launched thunderbolts to smite those who broke them, was an appropriate cultural reference for the piece, and an allusion to the power Le Breton would have so recently held.
