Farrell appears to be the first of the London silversmiths to champion this type of high relief ‘David Teniers’ decoration (many other ‘similar’ pieces are actually from the mid Victorian period). He perfected his technique on the splendid revivalist plate he and partner Kensington Lewis made for Frederick, Duke of York.
A coffee pot on stand, both dated 1817, was worked with a scene of cavalrymen beating back drunks outside a tavern and a man leading a donkey carrying an inebriate. To the spout was a stylised lion and to the four feet were lion-masks. Pitched at £2000-3000 at the auction on February 25, it went to a UK dealer at £3800.
A teapot from 1822 – £3100 at Dawsons.
A teapot with scenes of similar revelry from 1822 had a finial modelled as a reclining man smoking a pipe with drink in hand, lions in human clothing for the feet and a mythical beast to the spout. Estimated at £1200-1800, it sold online at £3100 to another UK trader.
