ADAM'S Country House Collections Day II - 14th October 2025

41 Country House Collections|13 th - 14 th October 2025 499 AN AMERICAN SILVER-GILT DINNER SERVICE Mark of Shreve & Co., San Francisco, c.1910, each pierced with trellis, vases and scrolls, comprising: Twenty service plates, 28.8cm diameter Twenty-two bread plates, 18.2cm diameter Sixteen sorbet cups, weighted, with glass liners, in two patterns Sixteen casters, 16.5cm high Twelve demitasse cups and saucers, with Lenox porcelain liners, 5.8cm high A centerpiece vase and stand, with brass fitting, 20cm high, stand 39.5cm diameter Two smaller vases, lacking glass inserts, 15.5cm high, 13.5cm diameter Four candlesticks, weighted, 36.2cm high (793 troy ozs excluding weighted and brass liners) (98 pieces) Provenance: Sale, Christies, Michael Taylor and the Alchemy of Design: The Diana Dollar Knowles Collection, October 22nd 2013, lot no. 2775. (Price realised $65,000); Private Collection € 30,000 - 50,000 The American Gold Rush of 1848 brought hundreds of thousands of people to the West or ‘Gold Coast’ as it became known to make their fortune. Jewellers George C. Shreve and his nephew Samuel S. Shreve joined these masses and headed to San Francisco where in 1852 they opened their newly established store Shreve Jewellery Company at 110 Montgomery Street. By the 1860s they had established themselves as one of the finest silver and goldsmiths in America, with patronage from Presidents and prominent families. in 1887 they became the second jeweller in US to represent the luxury timepiece brand, Patek Phillipe. By the early 20th century the company had grown substantially, employing skilled workers across a range of silversmith production, including exclusive silver gilt examples such as this service.