Bruce James Talbert (1838-1881) for Cox & Son - 19th Centu...

Hammer

£1,600

Bruce James Talbert (1838-1881) for Cox & Son - 19th Century silver plated Nef or table ornament in the form of a boat, mounted on wheels, the bow surmounted by a dragon, the ribbed sides with a lunette cast frieze, the base engraved 'KAISER WILHELM 11 SMY Hohenzollern 11', 7.75ins long x 8.25ins high overall
Note: This design appears in the Cox & Son catalogue of 1873 (reprinted in 1876). Cox & Son had a shop on The Strand and their catalogue claimed to supply 800 designs of furniture, Gothic metalwork, carpets and hangings by 'eminent church designers'.
Two nefs of this form are known, the first exhibited 'The Best of British Design from the 19th and 20th Centuries', Sotheby's March 2008 no.PR40 ('gilt metal'), and the second in the collection of Paul Reeves (un-gilded metal).
Lyon & Turnbull sold a similar nef  - 14th February 2019, Lot 125.
Talbert was a Scottish architect, interior designer and author, best known for his furniture designs. 
Kaiser Wilhelm II, eldest grandson of Queen Victoria via his mother, Victoria, Princess Royal. His yacht 'SMY Hohenzollern II' was in service from June 1892 - 1920, was named after their House of Hohenzollern