A pair of circular silver Wine Coasters, 1845. The rims are cast with dolphins, horses, Neptune, mermaids and other allegorical figures amongst a swirling wave effect, the bases flat-chased with the full Rothschild Coat of Arms. The coasters bear the workshop mark of Robert & Sebastian Garrard, Panton Street, London, 1845.
The arms depicted are those of Baron Lionel de Rothschild (1808-1879). On the 29 September 1822, the honour of Austrian barony was bestowed on the Rothschild brothers by the Imperial decree of Francis I, Emperor of Austria. The coasters may have been used at Lionel’s London town house, at 148 Piccadilly.
Lionel Nathan de Rothschild (1808-1879)
Lionel was born in London on 22 November 1808, the eldest son and heir of Nathan Mayer Rothschild. He studied at the University of Göttingen, before embarking on an apprenticeship in the family business in London, Paris and Frankfurt. Lionel was admitted to the family partnership in 1836 at a family gathering in Frankfurt to celebrate his marriage to his cousin, Charlotte, on 15 June. Nathan's death just days later left Lionel as senior partner in the new firm N M Rothschild & Sons, which he formed with his three brothers. Lionel undertook a lengthy campaign to become the first Jewish Member of Parliament, taking his seat as Liberal Member for the City of London in 1858, 11 years after he was first elected.
