Antique Pair "1st Lancashire Rifle" Silver Plated Wine Coolers Elkington 19th C

Condition:

In excellent original condition. As antique items, the coolers show minor signs of use commensurate with age, these minor condition issues are mentioned for accuracy and, as seen in the accompanying photographs, they display beautifully.

1st Lancashire Rifle Volunteers

The Volunteer movement had its origins in the eighteenth century. Service in the Militia was compulsory at that time for those selected by ballot and who were not wealthy enough to hire a substitute. But specific threats, such as Jacobite risings or the threat of French invasion, induced men to volunteer for home defence. A series of Militia Acts, notably in 1761, 1768 and 1802, had the effect of transforming the Militia from a home defence force into a reserve for the Regular Army, and its former function was increasingly filled by the Volunteers.
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Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars 1793-1815 In 1794, the risk of invasion by Revolutionary France persuaded the government to authorise the formation of volunteer units that would be subject to military discipline and eligible for pay when called out. Numerous Volunteer units were formed in Lancashire including the Warrington Bluebacks, regarded (in sentiment if not in direct lineage) as forebears of 4th Battalion The South Lancashire Regiment, and the Royal Preston Volunteers. Such units and their successors from 1808 onwards, the Local Militia, usually trained on a Sunday and from time to time did duty in various towns of Lancashire and Cheshire. British Volunteer strength peaked in 1803 at a remarkable total of some 440,000, but with the defeat of Napoleon they were all disbanded.
Riflemen Form In 1859 a scare a war with France swept the country, exposing the inability of the small peacetime Regular Army to defend Great Britain as well as the vast colonial Empire. The widespread popular demand for additional volunteer forces did not at first find favour with the Government of the day, but the Ministry finally gave way and on 25 May 1859 sanctioned the formation of corps of Rifle Volunteers. Lancashire responded with particular enthusiasm to the call for volunteers and by the end of 1860 over seventy local Infantry units had been raised. Uniforms, equipment, drill halls, rifle ranges, instructors and most weapons were initially provided at private expense or by public subscription, and the Volunteers were unpaid. Within twelve months some 130,000 men were under arms in Rifle Volunteer units. From 1861 the smaller corps were absorbed by their larger neighbours to form Administrative Battalions.
 





Elkington & Co
was a silver manufacturer from Birmingham, England.

Over the course of history it became very successful and was one of the prime producers of silver plating. Elkington received various royal warrants of appointments. One of their most famous pieces is the electrotype copy of the Jerningham Wine Cooler, at the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Angelica Kauffman, RA (1741 - 1807)

was a Swiss-born Austrian Neoclassical painter who had a successful career in London and Rome. Though born as "Kauffmann", Kauffman is the preferred spelling of her name in English; it is the form she herself used most in signing her correspondence, documents and paintings.

While Kauffman produced many types of art, she identified herself primarily as a history painter, an unusual designation for a woman artist in the 18th century. History painting, was considered the most elite and lucrative category in academic painting during this time period. Under the direction of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the Royal Academy made a strong effort to promote history painting to a native audience who were more interested in commissioning and buying portraits and landscapes.

Despite the popularity that Kauffman enjoyed in British society and her success as an artist, she was disappointed by the relative apathy that the British had towards history painting. Ultimately she left Britain for the continent, where history painting was better established, held in higher esteem and patronized.

The works of Angelica Kauffman have retained their reputation. By 1911, rooms decorated with her work were still to be seen in various quarters. At Hampton Court was a portrait of the duchess of Brunswick; in the National Portrait Gallery, a self-portrait. There were other pictures by her at Paris, at Dresden, in the Hermitage at St Petersburg, in the Alte Pinakothek atMunich, in Kadriorg Palace, Tallinn (Estonia).

Satinwood

is a hard and durable wood with a satinlike sheen, much used in cabinetmaking, especially in marquetry. It comes from two tropical trees of the family Rutaceae (rue family). East Indian or Ceylon satinwood is the yellowish or dark-brown heartwood of Chloroxylon swietenia.

The lustrous, fine-grained, usually figured wood is used for furniture, cabinetwork, veneers, and backs of brushes. West Indian satinwood, sometimes called yellow wood, is considered superior. It is the golden yellow, lustrous, even-grained wood found in the Florida Keys and the West Indies.

It has long been valued for furniture. It is also used for musical instruments, veneers, and other purposes. Satinwood is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Sapindales, family Rutaceae.