A set of 24 George III silver dinner plates by Henry Nutting 1810

Captain Sir George Collier’s presentation silver entree dishes and covers by Richard Cooke, London 1803, each plain rectangular with gadroon borders, covers with detachable vine twist handles, the covers engraved: ‘Presented by the Old Madras Insurance Company to Captn. Collier, Commander of His Majestys Sloop ‘Victor’, for his persevering & gallant conduct in chasing for two days, partially engaging & ultimately sinking the French National Corvette ‘La Fleche’ of superior force while advantageously anchored at the Mahé Islands.’ Dimensions approx.: 150 x 290 x 200mm / 6 x 11 ½ x 8 inches Total weight approx.: 3513 grams / 112 oz. troy. Footnotes: These silver dishes were presented to Captain Sir George Collier KCB (1774-1824) for destroying the 22-gun French corvette La Flèche whilst commanding Victor, 18 guns, in the Seychelles on 5 September 1801. After escorting troop transports into the Red Sea ahead of the British invasion of Egypt, Victor fell in with La Flèche off Diego Garcia. After an initial engagement, the corvette escaped to windward only to be found again four days later. A short but fierce action ensued during which the corvette caught fire, grounded on a coral reef and sank before a prize crew could secure the ship. As reward, the Admiralty made Collier post captain and gave him command of Leopard, 50 guns. Born in London, Collier entered the Royal Navy in 1784. As a midshipman, he was wrecked off Madagascar in 1792 surviving among the natives of that island for six months before being rescued by a passing Portuguese brig. Unfortunately, the brig was immediately captured by a French privateer and for two more years, Collier was confined as a prisoner of war on Mauritius. Returning to service in 1795, he was given his first command in Suffolk Tender. Following the Peace of Amiens, Collier commanded the Sea Fencibles at Liverpool. After accompanying the expedition to Copenhagen in 1808, for which he was knighted for delivering the admiral’s dispatches, he saw action, and was wounded, supporting the military Campaign in Spain. After the war, Collier was made commodore on the African station where he was employed suppressing the slave trade with such rigour that he was elected an honorary member of the African Institution, founded by William Wilberforce...

This small oval George III silver salver is raised on four scroll feet with a plain field and curvetto within a triple reed border. The reverse is engraved ‘June 18th 1803 Valentine Munden’s Prize Money when on board the Exeter East Indiaman for the Capture of the French Frigate La Medée.’ Maker’s mark of John Crouch & Thomas Hannam, London 1792. The naval action took place on the 4th of August 1800 off the coast of Brazil. On that morning, the Royal Navy escort, Belliqueux sighted a squadron of French frigates and, giving chase, captured the largest ship La Concorde whilst the East Indiamen, Exeter and Bombay Castle pursued and took the surrender of La Medée. The Coutts and Neptune were unsuccessful in capturing a third frigate La Franchaise, but the action stands out as the only occasion during the Napoleonic Wars when a merchant vessel captured a French ship of war...

A Victorian silver armorial tray presented to Brig. General Sir Bertram Portal, 17th Lancers, of rounded form with a bracketed, gadrooned rim with eight scallop shells, raised on th...

A set of 10 hand painted porcelain Vista Alegre dessert plates, each painted in bright colours with a different exotic Brazilian bird within a gilt hand chased border, the reverse with the name of the bird species, ‘VA Portugal...

An excellent set of 12 Antique George III Sterling Silver Dinner plates with a classic round gadroon border. Each plate has a small crest engraved on the rim. Made in London, Englan...

Set of 15 early 19th century Danish silver plates by Franciscus Kozlowsky Danish, 1807 Height 2cm, diameter 24cm Crafted by the Danish silversmith...

Manufactured in 1782 by the accomplished English silversmith Charles Wright, this set of twelve silver dinner plates is of superb quality. Each plate is largely circular, though the ...

Hallmarked in London in 1910 by Sydney Bellamy Harman, this wonderful, Edwardian, Antique Sterling Silver Set of Plates, comprises 12 dinner plates and 12 soup plates, all with gadro...