Accession Number

2007.011.001.005a-b

Description

a) a repouseed and chased hallmarked silver mustard pot in the Oriental style, the hinged lid topped with a decorative finial; b) a matching hallmarked silver mustard spoon.

Narrative

This mustard pot is of the same age and design as a four-piece hallmarked silver tea and coffee service consisting of a coffeepot, teapot, cream pitcher and sugar bowl, plus an additional pepper caster that is part of this accession. The items were made in London 1859-60 by John Samuel Hunt. Weighing 81 troy ounces, the major pieces bear the hallmarks of Hunt & Roskell, late Storr & Mortimer. The Croft family crest appears on all pieces.

The entire set was once owned by the donor’s mother’s father’s mother’s sister, Mary Jean Dunsmuir (daughter of Robert and Joan Dunsmuir), also known as Mrs. Henry Croft.  The donor is a great grandson of Elizabeth Hamilton Dunsmuir, eldest daughter of Robert and Joan Dunsmuir.  This silver was used at the Croft home, Mt. Adelaide, on West Bay in Esquimalt, B.C., a town that is part of Greater Victoria. The Croft family crest found on the silverware was also carved into the woodwork of Mt. Adelaide’s main hall.

In 2007, Leonard Clarke, a noted Victoria-based antique dealer (Pacific Antiques Ltd.) and silver specialist wrote of the maker: “Paul Storr was one of the foremost London silversmiths who took into partnership John Mortimer to look after the retail side of the business whilst Storr looked after the manufacturing end. Unfortunately, Mortimer overspent on stock, putting Storr on the verge of bankruptcy when John Samuel Hunt, son of a family friend who was also a wonderful silversmith, as evidenced by his work, came to the rescue and invested 5,000 Pounds. Hunt took Robert Ruskell into partnership in 1842.”

History of Use

This object is part of a set of an English silver tea & coffee service acquired by the family of Henry Croft, an Australian businessman who married Mary Jean Dunsmuir, daughter of Robert and Joan Dunsmuir. Croft brought the silver with him when he moved from Australia to Canada and used it at his house in Chemainus, B.C. where he operated a sawmill and lived with Mary.

In 1891, the silver was taken by the Crofts to their new house named Mt. Adelaide, situated on West Bay, in Esquimalt, B.C. After Mr. Croft’s death in 1917, Mary continued using the set at Mt. Adelaide until her death in 1928.

It was next inherited by Lucy Lenore Bryden of Royston, B.C., who was Mary’s sister’s son’s daughter. Lucy married naval officer John Ryland in 1938, and the couple later retired to Royston. The silver was used in their waterfront property on Royston’s Gartley Beach until Lucy’s death 1997.  It was donated to Craigdarroch Castle ten years later by her son and daughter-in-law Shane and Christine Ryland.  

Date

1859 – 1860

Material

Metal, silver

Technique

Chased; Repoussed

Country of Origin

United Kingdom