THE WELLINGTON COLLECTION

(1822)

The silver-gilt shield was commissioned by the merchants and bankers of the City of London in 1814 to a design by Thomas Stothard. It was based on Joseph Flaxman’s Achilles Shield and followed the same format with a series of narrative subjects surrounding a strong central composition.

The Achilles Shield was made for George IV and is now part of the Royal Collection. Even before the Battle of Waterloo the Duke of Wellington aroused enormous public interest, his victories in the Peninsular Wars, and in particular the decisive defeat of the French at the Battle of Vitoria in June 1813, had led to an outpouring of patriotic celebrations and vast illuminations in London.

The shield was finally cast in 1822 by Benjamin Smith for the firm of Green, Ward and Green.

The shield measures 103cm in diameter and is silver gilt. Stothard designed each surrounding panel with a scene from Wellington’s life, starting with his victory at the Battle of Assaye in India (1803) and concluding with the receipt of the Ducal Coronet from the Prince Regent (later George IV).

The central panel shows Wellington surrounded by his generals crushing Tyranny underfoot while being crowned by the winged figure of Victory. Thomas Stothard’s painted plaster model for the shield is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

The Deccan silver-gilt service was a gift to Wellington (then General Wellesley) from the Regiments who served under him in 1803 during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, in the Deccan region of India.

The idea of a gift was proposed as early as February 1804. At first it was intended to take the form of a gold vase. By late 1805, the decision had been made to substitute this for a service of silver plate.

Four different London makers were chosen because of their individual areas of specialisation: William Fountain and John Moore for the plates and dishes; John Edwards for the tureens (pictured) and decorative bowls, and, Joseph Preedy for the centrepiece.

(1818)

The Saxon Service was made in Dresden and presented to the Duke of Wellington after the Battle of Waterloo by the King of Saxony, Frederick I. The service features of series of pictorial plates that show scenes from the Duke of Wellington’s life.

This plate is of particular interest as it shows the Apsley House as originally designed by Robert Adam in the 1770s. The house was red brick (although it appears yellow here) with a simple, classically designed portico.

The area around the house is shown as if it was set in a country park rather than London. The road hardly exists and there are paths designed for horse riding which lead neatly into Hyde Park.

The house was built for the Lord Chancellor, Henry, 1st Lord Apsley (later 2nd Earl of Bathurst) by the most fashionable architect of the day, Robert Adam.

The plate is hand painted with gilded borders, the main border, like all the dessert plates of the service is decorated with a laurel leaf.

The Meissen factory near Dresden produced some of the most outstanding examples of European porcelain. The famous crossed swords logo is one of the oldest trademarks known. The Meissen factory exists today and continues to manufacture porcelain.

(1808-13)

Dominating the dining room at Apsley House is the Portuguese Centrepiece, part of a 1,000 piece service gifted to Wellington in 1816 from the Portuguese nation.

It is one of the finest pieces of neo-classical silver in Europe and a unique design produced in honour of the Duke’s victory over the French in Portugal during the Peninsular Wars (1808- 1814).

It was designed by Domingos António de Sequeira, the Portuguese court painter. The service was made by men from the Lisbon Military Arsenal who had never produced such a detailed and delicate commission.

It took 150 men four years to produce. The plateau or base is decorated with mythological griffins bearing plaques above their heads with Wellington’s most famous victories of the Peninsular Wars.

Alongside these masculine symbols are dancing nymphs from the River Tagus.

The Portuguese silver gilt service arrived in London in 1817 in 55 crates.

Once opened it was found that there was some damage, Gerrard’s the famous London Jewellers were employed to repair the service which was briefly displayed to the public at their showrooms in Panton Street.

The centrepiece took pride of place at the annual Waterloo banquets held from 1820 in the dining room and after 1828 in the Waterloo Gallery.

(1814)

This Sèvres Vase is one of a pair on display at Apsley House where they have been since at least the 1840s. These two vases show the quality of the workmanship associated with the Sèvres factory.

Decorated with an image of a now extinct type of South African zebra called a quagga, the other vase features a gnu, and they were both taken from a series of aquatints that the expedition artist Samuel Daniell’s produced in 1799.

Daniells travelled to South Africa and his prints were widely distributed. Both vases stand on an ormolu (gilt bronze) foot by the celebrated goldsmith Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751-1843).

Sèvres were the leading French manufacturer of ceramics and was founded in 1738 becoming a royal factory in 1759. In 1875 the factory was transferred from Sèvres to a new building, funded by the state, next to the Parc de Saint Cloud where it still stands today.