Platter

The central motif of the platter consists of Bacchus and Ariadne embracing in a chariot, by which are two floating putti, and the whole scene is framed with a wreath of vines with bunches of grapes. The rim is covered with dense ornamental decorations with a motif of grapevines interwoven with musical trophies supplemented with bacchante heads. This is a very fine example of English silversmithing inspired by motifs of classical antiquity. The drawing was made by Thomas Stothard, a draughtsman who produced expensive commissions for Rundel & Bridge Co. Stothard drew the central scene according to a model from a Roman cameo found in 1660 in Via Aurelia, which prints took to a wider audience. The model for the tray was made by William Tollemache, and the actual making of the object was taken over by Paul Storr’s Dean Street (London) workshop. Above the central scene of Bacchus and Ariadne the initials EA (for Ernest Augustus) are engraved, and below them the coat of arms of the Duke of Cumberland, fifth son of George III, for whom the platter was originally made. As far as can be ascertained, two versions of the platter were made with the same central scene, the first of which has only musical trophies on the rim (the 1813 – 1814 platter), while the later versions have a rim decoration supplemented with bacchante heads (all three later platters). The platter in the Museum of Arts and Crafts was made in 1815 after the more complex model for the rim.