JEWELLERY, DECORATIVE & FINE ARTS AUCTION Tuesday, 23 July 2024 - 10:00 AM start

A rare and exceptional George II silver coffee pot by the reknowned maker Christian Hillan,

Lot Details

the tapered cylindrical body with decoratively embossed floral and scroll decoration, the lid with pineapple finial, the spout with tapered reeded and lobed mount. Spreading circular base. Rosewood handle. With engraved armorial of a shooting star. Dented below spout. London 1741 by Christian Hillan. 1099gms. H.270mm. Provenance: The collection of John and Valerie Robertson, Auckland. Note: This coffee pot is one of the largest works surviving by Christian Hillan, a rare maker who is associated with the group of foreign-trained craftsmen in the circle of Paul de Lamerie. Along with the German immigrant James Shruder, the Lige-born Nicolas Sprimont and the French Huguenot Paul Crespin, Hillan brought Continental-inspired rococo fashion to the Lamerie group. Until 1742 Hillan occupied premises in Compton Street, Soho, next door to Sprimont, and it is likely that he did work for, or supplied silver to, the Lamerie group. It is not certain whether Hillan's origins were German or Scandinavian. A similar coffee pot is held in The Met collection, see https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/188786