拍品专文
The ascos jug follows an ancient Greek prototype used as a receptacle for the oil burnt in lamps. Its unusual form is derived from early examples which were fashioned from leather. The Bacchic decoration of this pair, with the goat finials and putto handle terminals is characteristic of the neo-classical dining plate produced by the leading goldsmiths in the first quarter of the 19th century. A number of examples by Paul Storr are known (see M. Clayton, The Christie's Pictorial History of English and American Silver, Oxford, 1985, p.256, fig.3). A pair of William IV frosted glass and silver-mounted ascos jugs with fox finials and vine handles were exhibited London, Asprey, Silver From a Golden Age, 1640-1840, 1994, no. 67. The differing decoration is based on the Aesop's fable The Fox and the Grapes.