Posted on 01/14/2010 12:29:02 PM PST by Pharmboy
Now 300 years old, the Loring Bowl, as it is known, will be the star of the show at Sotheby’s auction of early American silver in New York on Jan. 22. It is, by far, the biggest bowl of its kind and period that Sotheby’s has ever handled. Now 300 years old, the Loring Bowl, as it is known, will be the star of the show at Sotheby’s auction of early American silver in New York on Jan. 22. It is, by far, the biggest bowl of its kind and period that Sotheby’s has ever handled. (Southeby's)
Fearing for his life, Joshua Loring fled his mansion in Jamaica Plain one day in 1774 with his family for the safety of Boston proper. His harassment by colonials as a Tory had made life there untenable. In his sudden dash to safety, he left almost everything in his mansion behind.
A huge silver bowl was hidden in a well on the property for safekeeping. After the Revolutionary War, his son retrieved the bowl and took it to England, where his father had moved - and where it has languished for 230 years.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
A bit of doggerel from the RevWar went like this:
Sir William he, snug as a flea,
Lay all this time a-snoring
Nor dreamed of harm as he lay warm,
In bed with Mrs. Loring.
Cartoonist's impression of "The Notorious Mrs. Loring"
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bttt!
The article describes it as “huge,” but then goes on to say it is 1 foot in diameter and weighs 4 pounds. I’ve seen stuff in museums that were 3-4 times that size. Louis XIV of France had furniture made from silver.
True enough, but I believe for American silver of that period, it is a large piece.
Today we should rename the northeast states Tory Land.
The tide runs out and the population there is mostly Mrs Lorings preferring the old country socialism to America.
Modern day Tory traitors are disgusting
It is a beautiful piece regardless of it’s size. I’d love to know what it sells for.
Excellent! I’m sure Homie would buy her a glass of Duff...
The article estimate $400-800K. I bet it goes for over a million.
I wouldn’t be the slightest bit surprised if it went for that much. I will be looking on the Internet on the 22nd to see if I can find what it sold for. It’s absolutely beautiful!
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Both of my parents grew up in J.P and my earliest memories are from that area of Boston.
It didn’t take them long at all to turn that way. I think they went that way before the Euros.
LOL, I loved the title to this thread. And there I was thinking it was all about the Ravens beating NE last Sunday.
Thanks for posting. What a magnificent piece of work.
I thought the Loring name was familiar. Thanks for making that connection, too.
You've come a long way, Boston
Great cartoon.
The social lives of the British generals in the colonies seems to always be a fascinating topic, yet it wasn’t until after schooling that I had any clue of that—or how they influenced the “Great Events” of the time. Studying history without Margaret Kemble Gage, Betsey Loring, et al., one will find it interesting, yet incomplete.
Sotheby's Sets a Record for American Silver at Auction - Bowl Sells for $5.9 M
Monday, January 25, 2010
NEW YORK, NY.- A new auction record for American silver was set this afternoon at Sotheby’s when a Silver Punch Bowl by Cornelius Kierstede, made in New York between 1700 and 1710, sold for an astonishing $5,906,500.
With a pre-sale estimate of $400/800,000 auctioneer David Redden opened the bidding at $275,000 and almost instantly a bid of $500,000 was called out by Ian Irving of Ian Irving Ltd.
As many as six different bidders raised their paddles, but at around $3 million the battle was reduced to two determined clients, an anonymous gentleman seated in the room and New York dealer S.J. Shrubsole. The competition continued for several minutes before the winning bid was cast by the anonymous purchaser in the room; bringing the gavel down to rousing applause. The final price of $5.9 million is more than seven times the previous record for American silver, and is the second highest price ever paid for any piece of silver at auction.
The bowl has descended in the family of Commodore Joshua Loring, whose stately home in Jamaica Plain , Massachusetts , the Loring-Greenough House, has been preserved as an historic site. A Royalist, Loring abandoned his residence in August 1774 to take refuge in Boston , and the family emigrated to London in 1776. According to tradition, the bowl was hidden in a well on the property during the Revolution. Retrieved by the family, it descended quietly with them in England , completely unknown, until the owners sent a grainy photograph to Sotheby’s London silver department in March of 2009.
The punch bowl was included in Sotheby’s sale of Important Americana, which continues tomorrow morning at 10am, and will be followed by Chinese Export Porcelain from the Private Collection of Elinor Gordon at 2pm.
The previous auction record for American silver was $775,750, paid for both The Richard and Alice Brackett Cup, An American Silver Wine Cup, John Hull and Robert Sanderson, Sr., Boston, circa 1660, sold from the collection of Quincy Church at Sotheby’s in January 2001, and A Superb Early American Silver Two-Handled Grace Cup and Cover, John Coney, Boston, circa 1715, also descended with a Royalist family in England and sold at Sotheby’s in January 2002.
Thank you so much for pinging me on this article. I had a feeling that the bowl would go for much more than originally predicted. It is so beautiful, how could it not?
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