Silver-gilt tray, with the coat of arms of Nathaniel, 1st Lord Rothschild (1840-1915), c.1885, workshop of Benjamin and James Smith, 1809.
An English George III silver-gilt oval tray, the centre finely engraved within a wide band of scrolling foliage, the pierced turn-up rim with a close running design of vine leafage and grapes, animal mask handles, resting on four centaur feet. Made in 1809, the year that Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777-1836) set up in business at New Court in the City, this piece was later engraved with the arms of the 1st Lord Rothschild, possibly to mark his elevation to the peerage in 1885.
Nathaniel Mayer ('Natty'), 1st Lord Rothschild
Nathaniel was the eldest son of Baron Lionel (1808-1879) and Charlotte (1819-1884). He studied at Cambridge, where he joined the circle of friends of the Prince of Wales. He married his cousin, Emma Louise (1844-1937) in Frankfurt in 1867.
Natty took over the senior partnership of the London House on the death of his father. Under his direction, the bank made many loans on behalf of Sovereign clients and for grand engineering projects. Natty served as an MP, and became the first Jewish peer in 1885, taking the title Lord Rothschild of Tring. A noted philanthropist, he asumed the role as lay head of Anglo-Jewry in England.
