LADY DEERHURST AND THE HISTORY OF THE DRESSING SERVICE
The dressing case was treasured by Lady Deerhurst, and in her will, proved on the 4 March 1842 when her son was only three years old, she ensured it and other prized possessions would remain with the her son George William, who succeeded his grandfather as 9th Earl of Coventry in May 1843. The will reads 'I give and bequeath to my dear son the said Viscount Deerhurst the watch and chain I usually wear[,] the marble bust of his dear father[,] the large dressing box with all and singular its ornamental and other contents[,] the inkstand made out of a favourite horses hoof belonging to his later father[,] silver mounted for his use absolutely[,] it being my solemn injunction that he shall never on any account whatever part from the same articles or either of them[,] but preserve them as a Remembrance of his father and myself'.
Lady Deerhurst also stipulated that her brother Sir Charles Cockerell (later Rushout), 2nd Bt. and Major General Edward Lygon be guardians of her son, the future 9th Earl of Coventry. Her mother Harriet, Lady Cockerell, Lady Louisa Lygona and Major General Edward Lygon be her daughters guardians with the additional request that her daughter lived with her mother Lady Cockerell.
The dressing case was later given to Lady Blanche Craven (1842-1930), the daughter of William Craven, 2nd Earl of Craven (1809-1866), on the occasion of her marriage to the 9th earl in January 1865. In the report of the wedding in the Sporting Gazette it was noted that,
'The wedding presents were both numerous and costly, and included, in addition to those worn by the bride, a magnificent gold necklace, with jewelled pendants from the noble bridegroom, as well as a dressing-case of great size, an heir-loom of the Coventry family, and remarkable for the value and beauty of the settings, which are of solid gold'. No doubt the reporter mistook the heavy gilding to be solid gold rather than silver-gilt.
John Bell, the Aberdonian antique dealer who sold the service to the vendor's father in 1954 found an anonymous letter addressed to Lady Blanche in one of the secret drawers. The envelope addressed to the Countess of Coventry was posted on 2 February 1865, only 8 days after her marriage to the Earl. In it the anonymous correspondent claims to be the earl's wife. The letter reads,
'Lady Blanche / Your husband the Earl of Coventry is not your husband. I am his real wife. / I have been married to him / years and have children by his / lordship. I was rich / I have written to your father the earl of craven [sic],' Signed 'J.B.'
In 1954 John Bell of Aberdeen wrote of Sir Ian Moncreiffe of that Ilk, 11th Bt., asking for assistance in discovering the history of the dressing case. A reply written by Sir Ian's wife, Diana, Countess of Erroll (1926-1978), identifies Harriett Anne Deerhurst as the owner of the service and Lady Blanche Craven, Countess of Coventry as the recipient of the anonymous letter. She observes '...the letter was presumably untrue, since nothing drastic has followed.'
JEAN-BAPTISTE-CLAUDE ODIOT
Maison Odiot can trace its origins back to 1690, however, it reached its zenith under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste-Claude Odiot, the grandson of the founder, Jean-Baptiste-Gaspard Odiot. Jean-Baptiste-Claude was born in 1763 and became a master in 1785, He succeeded his father in the business and built on the firm's reputation, coming to particular notice during the Exposition de l'industrie held in Paris in 1802 when he was awarded a gold medal. In 1809, following the bankruptcy of the celebrated neoclassical silversmith Henry Auguste, then silversmith to Emperor Napoleon, Odiot purchased many of Auguste’s models and designs.
Soon Odiot was receiving orders from the French imperial court, including the sword and sceptre for the emperor’s coronation. He was also commissioned to create a magnificent service for Napoleon's mother, who was styled 'Madame Mère', much of which was exhibited London, Christie's, The Glory of the Goldsmith, 1989, nos. 17 and 18. Among other important commissions were a massive service for Count Demidoff, much of which was sold Christie’s London, 7 July 2011, lot 30 and another for Countess Branicki, the niece of Gregory Potemkin, (see Christie's, London, 12 June 2007, lots 120-122). Other royal commissions came from the King of Bavaria and Emperor Napoleon’s son, the King of Rome.
In addition to the grand dinner services Odiot was known for his lavish and extensive dressing table services, or necessaires de voyage, one of which he created for the emperor. The Deerhurst service is an extensive and richly decorated service, with an expensively inlaid case, the height of fashion at the time. It is notable that it was suitably prized to be have Lady Deerhurst as at least its second owner as her initials and coronet were added later to the cover of the case.
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