An Important Pair of Early Victorian Sauceboats

London 1843

Sterling silver

Maker’s Mark of John Mortimer & John Samuel Hunt

Total Combined Weight: 50oz (1555gr)

Length: Approximately 9in

This an incredible pair of early Victorian Sauceboats were made in London in 1843 by Mortimer & Hunt (the continuation of Paul Storr’s business after he retired in 1838). The sauceboats of are a large scale measuring approximately 9.2in in length. The body of the sauceboat is a shell design that was originally designed by Paul Storr circa 1817 and is in the rococo revival manner with separately cast scroll feet. However what really sets this pair of sauce boats apart is the incredible cast lion heraldic handles which are also separately cast and made to the very highest quality.

Sauceboats by Paul Storr and Mortimer & Hunt (later Hunt & Roskell) are extremely rare and especially examples of this scale and quality. A small handful of other comparable examples are known having sold at auction over the last twenty years which I will show on the next few pages.

The most famous are examples were made in 1842 for the Duke of Cumberland, Ernst Augustus whose entire dinner service was made by Mortimer & Hunt between 1840-1842 and the sauceboats in this service were very similar albeit they had a horse handle as opposed to a lion and the bodies are engraved with rococo decoration.