George III silver wine coolers, 1803, £175,000 from Koopman Rare Art.
They are engraved with the arms of Thomas Robinson, 3rd Baron Grantham, who spent over £3000 at Garrard’s in 1803-04.
These ‘ice pails’ weighing 523oz are recorded in the firm’s Gentleman’s Ledger no.4 for February 10, 1804, as supplied to Lord Grantham for £294 10s 8d plus an extra £12 for engraving armorials and £6 for a wooden fitted chest for them.
Grantham was evidently not wholly satisfied with the grandeur of the arms Garrard’s engraved on them, and two years later he returned the coolers to have mantling, supporters and coronets applied to each side and the coat-of-arms engraved again at an extra cost of £16 11s 2d.
