A George III silver service at Waddesdon Manor

Apollo, April, 2003 by Philippa Glanville

The magnificent silver service which is the subject of this article (Figs. 1 and 2) was commissioned by George III in the 1770s for use in his German palaces in Hanover, and is a supreme example of the goldsmith's art. Thanks to its loan from a Rothschild Family Trust, some one hundred and twenty pieces from the service--made in Paris and Hanover--are now on public view in the grand and appropriately French setting of the White Drawing Room at Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire. This represents the largest surviving tranche of a unique Franco-German commission, and is one of only a handful of royal, neo-classical services to have survived anywhere in the world.

George III had inherited the electorate of Hanover from his great-grandfather, George I, who was born a German prince, but became King of Great Britain in 1714 on the death of Queen Anne, the last representative of the Stuart dynasty. George III was the first Hanoverian ruler to be born and educated in England and he was to declare on his accession: 'I glory in the name of Briton'. However, in spite of his British and Hanoverian pedigree, George III admired French decorative arts, and took a personal interest in the designs of the Parisian goldsmith Robert Joseph Auguste (1723-1805), who served Louis XVI as 'Orfevre du Roi'.

The king's new Service--Service A in the Royal Chamberlain's many inventories--is the most extensive and best documented of any ordered for a German court. Divided since 1924, the service has, unusually, survived the tribulations of invasion, burial and falling out of fashion. At Waddesdon, it now joins two Sevres services commissioned by Louis XV to form a unique record of the art of dining at the Courts of Europe.

In May 1803, Napoleon's armies invaded Hanover. The famous white horses of the Hanover stud with thirty grooms, the royal linen and all the silver furniture and dining plate were hastily packed up and evacuated by sea. The seventy crates of silver ran aground twice off St Petersburg and reached London only five months later.

The first time the Hanover silver was seen in Britain was in February 1805. George In, who was restoring Windsor Castle at the time, organised a patriotic celebration with a German theme to attract popular support for the campaign against France. Some five hundred guests--aristocrats, diplomats and members of fashionable society--came to listen to a concert of German music, to dance and eat supper; the Prince of Wales refused to attend. The Hanover chandeliers dazzled overhead in the Ballroom, the silver side tables and mirrors acquired by George II lined the walls, and the tables glittered with a spread of dining silver and candelabra from Hanover, the first time the English court had seen its riches. Wedgwood figures celebrating patriotic themes adorned the centre of the tables.

A study day entitled 'Dinner with the King: The George III Service', is being held on 30 October 2003 by Philippa Glanville and Pippa Shirley at Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire. For further information, call 01296 653226.

Philippa Glanville is Academic Director at Waddesdon Manor. She was formerly Chief Curator of Metalwork, Silver and Jewellery at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and her publications include Silver in England (1987), Silver in Tudor and Early Stuart England (1990), and Elegant Eating (2002).