Royal: A Pair of German Silver Candlesticks, One Conrad Hermann Mundt, The Other Alexander Heinrich

of octagonal baluster form with incurved angles, the wells engraved with contemporary arms within crossed plumes and below an Electoral Bonnet, flanked by initials GLC, both marked on base rims, numbered on underside 20 (Mundt) and 54 (Diester),

32 1/2 oz; 1014 g

height 6 1/2 in.; 16.5 cm

Provenance
George Louis, Elector of Hanover (1660-1727) and from 1714 King of England, thence by descent to

Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover, 3rd duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, sold in 1923 to

J. Glückselig und Sohn 1923, purchased by

Lionel Alfred Crichton (Crichton Brothers), 22 Old Bond Street, London, sold in 1924

Gordon Clift Horton (1918-1963)

Florence Horton, bequeathed in 1975 to

Davidson College, North Carolina

Sotheby's, New York, 4 April 2007, lot 519

Literature

L. Seelig, 'The King George III Silver Service', The Journal of the Silver Society, 2012, no.28.

Catalogue note
The arms are those of George Louis, Elector of Hanover (1660-1727) and from 1714 King of England.

These candlesticks formed part of the Second Service of the Hanoverian Court, as recorded in the 1728 inventory. This service was engraved with palm leaves enclosing the armorials used between 1692, when George I's father was created first Elector of Hanover, and 1708, when George himself was introduced to the College of Electors. The initials, GLC, stand for George Louis Churfürst.

Although out of date, these arms were engraved on new pieces added to the Second Service after October, 1724, when George I ordered it and the first service extended. The whole order took several years to deliver, came to 12,200 Taler and was divided between the Court Goldsmiths Diester and Mundt, with the engraving done by Eland and Esau.

Called Service E in the 1745 inventory, these pieces were evacuated with the rest of the Hanoverian silver during the Napoleonic Wars. When Victoria succeeded to the throne of Great Britain, they passed with the Hanoverian treasures to her uncle, Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, now King of Hanover. When Bismark forced the Hanoverian Royal Family into exile in 1866, the silver followed them to Austria. In 1923, part of the silver, including these candlesticks, was sold through the Viennese dealer Gluckselig.

Eight candlesticks matching these, by Mundt (6) and Diester (2), are in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Another twelve, also by Mundt (8) and Diester (4), were sold Sotheby's, Geneva, 16 November 1992, lot 231. These were numbered up to 59, suggesting a total group of at least 60 candlesticks.