Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 10

A Fine Pair of Brass Strung Mahogany Knife Urns with Armorials

$26,097.10per set
£18,750per set
€22,343.69per set
CA$35,991.92per set
A$36,426.60per set
CHF 20,886.01per set
MX$441,809.19per set
NOK 242,895.80per set
SEK 247,244.46per set
DKK 167,027.11per set

About the Item

A Fine Pair of Brass Strung Mahogany Knife Urns with Armorials, Likely for the Wills Family of Landrake in Cornwall c.1800 These two urns are of unusually large scale and superb quality, the stringing of brass rather than the more usual boxwood. The rising lids supported on central pillars, the interiors fitted for the display and storage of cutlery. The escutcheon plates of gilt brass and below them are shields engraved with a demi-griffin segreant crest holding an axe. This crest is associated with the Wills family and it is likely that the knife urns were made for the branch of the family based around the village of Landrake in Cornwall. The urns stand on waisted stems set upon integral square bases that are, in turn, raised on gilt brass ball feet. There are fine lion mask ring handles to the sides and brass ball finials to each lid. Although there are a number of knife urns of this style surviving, very few have the additional refinements found on this pair both in terms of their decoration and their extremely large size. At present the corpus of urns cannot be confidently ascribed to any one particular maker but it is clear that they were the product of a major workshop of the calibre of a Gillows or maybe even Seddon. Outstanding examples of turn of the 19th century English design.
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 14 in (35.56 cm)Depth: 14 in (35.56 cm)
  • Sold As:
    Set of 2
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    Circa 1800
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use.
  • Seller Location:
    Lymington, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU973049351462

More From This Seller

View All
Pair of Napoleon III Moroccan Burr Thoya Wood Urns

Pair of Napoleon III Moroccan Burr Thoya Wood Urns

Located in Lymington, Hampshire

A pair of Napoleon III Moroccan burr thoya wood urns, turned from the solid, each in the form of a slender urn and cover on a shaped base, with an ormolu flame finial, beading and la...

Category

Antique 1850s French Napoleon III Urns

Materials

Wood

A Fine Pair of Bronze Urns or Vases and Covers c.1870

A Fine Pair of Bronze Urns or Vases and Covers c.1870

Located in Lymington, Hampshire

A Fine Pair of Bronze Urns or Vases and Covers After a Design Believed to Have Been Made By the French Animalier Auguste Nicolas Cain c.1870 The urns each on a shaped black marble s...

Category

Antique 1880s Italian Vases

Materials

Bronze

Fine Pair of George III Mahogany Wine Cisterns Attributed to Gillows

Fine Pair of George III Mahogany Wine Cisterns Attributed to Gillows

By Gillows of Lancaster & London

Located in Lymington, Hampshire

Each cistern is in the form of a fluted vase on a rectangular pedestal. The lead-lined vases have brass handles, removable lids with pineapple finials and taps. The crossbanded pedestals have cupboard doors enclosing slatted shelves for warming plates in one and a lead-lined slops drawers, a tambour fronted shelf and a cellaret in the other. Susan Stuart, 'Gillow of Lancaster and London', 2008 vol 1 p308-315 illustrates many pedestal urns including the drawings for Workington Hall, Cumbria, dated 1788. PLates 342 and 343 show pedestals with a similar arrangement of shelves and drawers. Thomas Sheraton explained the functions of dining room pedestals in his 'Drawing Book' of 1793: 'IN spacious dining rooms the sideboards are often made without drawers of any sort, having simply a rail, a little ornament...

Category

Antique 19th Century English George III Obelisks

Materials

Mahogany

A rare pair of mahogany revolving nautically themed display cabinets

A rare pair of mahogany revolving nautically themed display cabinets

Located in Lymington, Hampshire

A rare pair of mahogany revolving nautically themed display cabinets with carved wood ropes to the tops and binnacle style stands. Each with a single removable shelf. English, Circa ...

Category

Early 20th Century English Cabinets

Materials

Glass, Mahogany

Pair of Regency Classical Gilt Bronze Vases

Pair of Regency Classical Gilt Bronze Vases

Located in Lymington, Hampshire

A pair of Regency classical gilt bronze vases, each in the form of a shallow gadrooned bowl with an acorn finial supported by three goat-headed terms ...

Category

Antique 1810s English Regency Vases

Materials

Bronze

A pair of Louis XVI style mahogany and ormolu gueridons, after Adam Weisweiler

A pair of Louis XVI style mahogany and ormolu gueridons, after Adam Weisweiler

Located in Lymington, Hampshire

A pair of Louis XVI style mahogany and ormolu gueridons, after Adam Weisweiler, each with a circular amboyna veneered top and triform undertier enclosed within three pairs of simulat...

Category

Vintage 1910s French Louis XVI Gueridon

Materials

Mahogany

You May Also Like

George III Antique English Pair of Mahogany Knife Urns with Boxwood Stringing

George III Antique English Pair of Mahogany Knife Urns with Boxwood Stringing

Located in Northampton, GB

A pair of late eighteenth century Georgian mahogany cutlery urns, dating to the reign of George III, circa 1790. Each urn is of classical form, made in richly coloured mahogany with...

Category

Antique 1790s English George III Knife Boxes

Materials

Wood

Early 19th Century George III Pair of Mahogany Knife Urns

Early 19th Century George III Pair of Mahogany Knife Urns

Located in Dublin 8, IE

Early 19th Century George III pair of mahogany knife urns. Of square form with carved blind fretwork design. The domed and finialled tops lift to reveal fitt...

Category

Antique Early 19th Century Irish Neoclassical Knife Boxes

Materials

Mahogany

Pair Of George III Mahogany And Satinwood Telescopic Knife Urns

Pair Of George III Mahogany And Satinwood Telescopic Knife Urns

Located in Essex, MA

Domed tops with gilt bronze pineapple finials. Top lifts to expose cutlery storage slots. Concave ebonized bases. Similar example with marquetry M.Tomlin , Catalog of Adam Period Fur...

Category

Antique 1780s English George III Decorative Boxes

Materials

Bronze

Pair of George III Mahogany Cutlery-Urns

Pair of George III Mahogany Cutlery-Urns

Located in Kilmarnock, VA

A refined and decorative pair of Sheraton period cutlery urns, dating to the late 18th century, showcasing the balance and precision of English neoclassicism. Each urn features a dom...

Category

Antique 1790s English George III Knife Boxes

Materials

Ebony, Mahogany, Satinwood

Pair Of George III Style Brass Mounted Carved Mahogany Cellarettes

Pair Of George III Style Brass Mounted Carved Mahogany Cellarettes

Located in Bridgeport, CT

A pair of mahogany George III style brass mounted urn form cellarettes with lead lined interior. The urns surmounted by detachable lids with brass acorn form finials. The urns with c...

Category

Antique 19th Century English George III Wine Coolers

Materials

Brass, Lead