Victorian silver wine coasters a ‘royal’ lot for Staffordshire auction house

	The three Silver Wine coasters by Robert Garrards
	The heradic crest featured in the centre

Staffordshire auction house Cuttlestones’ March 5th Fine Art and Antiques Auction will see the sale of a fine set of three Victorian hallmarked silver wine coasters attributed to the esteemed jeweller and silversmith Robert Garrard of R&S Garrard & Co, London. The firm has strong Royal connections - in 1843, Queen Victoria appointed Garrard & Co to the position of Crown Jewellers, leading to the production of numerous pieces of silverware and jewellery for the Royal Family as well as the maintenance of the Crown Jewels.

Dated 1851, these hallmarked silver wine coasters hail from the height of R&S Garrard & Co’s fame, during which period it was also responsible for a large number of sporting cups, vases and centrepieces including those prepared for the Ascot, Doncaster and Goodwood races. In good condition, the wine coasters feature a pierced gallery below a gadrooned edge, wooden insert bases with a central silver plaque which features a fearsome heraldic crest of griffins head appearing out of a crown with a bleeding hand in its beak and, at a diameter of 13.5cm, would add an elegant touch to any dining table or silverware collection.

Head Auctioneer and MD at Cuttlestones, Ben Gamble, says:
“This is a lovely set of hallmarked silver wine coasters by a very good maker. Silver wine coasters are collectable in their own right, but the strong Royal connections of RS Garrard & Co at the time these were made – including commissions from Victoria and Albert themselves – makes them all the more desirable.”

Expected to achieve in the region of £400-£600 the hallmarked RS Garrard & Co silver wine coasters are just one lot within a strong silver section at Cuttlestones’ March 5th Fine Art and Antiques sale, the catalogue for which also features impressive furniture, ceramics, jewellery sections.

The sale catalogue will be available at www.cuttlestones.co.uk from Friday 26th February, with viewing Thursday 4th March from 10am and the morning of the sale from 9am. The sale starts at 10am on Friday, 5th March at Cuttlestones’ sale room in Penkridge, near Stafford, with live internet bidding, commission bids and telephone bidding services available for those unable to attend. For further details on the R&S Garrard & Co silver wine coasters or the Fine Art and Antiques Sale in general, call 01785 714905.