A RARE VICTORIAN SILVER INK WELL IN THE FORM OF A DONKEY CAR...

Hammer

€11,000

A RARE VICTORIAN SILVER INK WELL IN THE FORM OF A DONKEY CARRYING BASKET PANNIERS, By John Samuel Hunt, London, 1845, inscribed ‘Hunt & Roskell’, late ‘Storr & Mortimer’, the hinged top fruit filled basket pannier fitted with glass ink pots on a well modelled donkey and naturalistic pose, bearing the title ‘’Gee up Neddy’’ from the popular nursery rhyme, (22.8 troy ozs excluding glass bottles). 13cm high, 15cm long, 12cm wide The inscription on this ink stand, Gee Up Neddy” refers to the nursery rhyme Gee Up Neddy To The Fair: What shall we get when we get there, A penny apple or a penny pear, What shall we get when we get there!. Hunt & Roskell, a prominent firm of jewellers and silversmiths based on Bond Street, London, is well-represented in the Victoria and Albert Museum, which holds 25 of their works. The firm's origins trace back to the celebrated silversmith Paul Storr, who, after departing Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, established his own workshop on Harrison Street near Clerkenwell in 1819. In 1820, Storr formed a partnership with John Mortimer, creating Storr & Mortimer and trading from 13 New Bond Street. The firm gained further strength in 1826 with the addition of John Samuel Hunt, whose £5,000 investment facilitated its growth. By 1838, the firm had moved to 156 New Bond Street, and with Storr’s retirement at the end of that year, the name was changed to Mortimer & Hunt. This name persisted until 1843, when John Mortimer retired, and the firm was renamed Hunt & Roskell. Hunt & Roskell garnered acclaim at the Great Exhibition of 1851, held at the Crystal Palace in London, where their display, valued at approximately £100,000, was noted for its opulence. The firm continued to exhibit its work internationally, including at events in New York in 1853 and Paris in 1867. By the 1860s, Hunt & Roskell employed around 35 people at their Bond Street shop and an additional 80-100 at their Harrison Street factory.