A record price for a piece of silver was set this month when a 300 year old Queen Anne wine cooler fetched a very cool £2.2 million at auction in London. It was originally commissioned in 1705 by Baron Raby as part of his ambassadorial plate when he was Ambassador to the King of Prussia. But it then disappeared from the records until a Sotheby’s researcher discovered that it had been inherited by the present Marquis of Lothian.
The silver 'cistern' as it is correctly known, would keep any embassy party in full swing with its magnificent capacity. It weighs 11 ½ stone and is 4ft 3in wide (1.3m). It was bought by a private buyer from Asia.
But there is a chance left for today’s embassies that may be feeling the pinch. By coincidence, silver dealers I Franks at the
London Silver Vaults last year commissioned a similar sized wine cistern (pictured). Hallmarked at the London assay office it is almost the same width but about half the weight and can be snapped up at a more modest £85,000.
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