The Grand Service
George IV's spectacular silver-gilt dining service and buffet
Dessert stand (part of The Grand Service)
1812-13RCIN 46984
The marine forms of this dessert centrepiece were inspired by the superb silver Marine Service made for George IV's grandfather, Frederick, Prince of Wales (1707–51), in the 1740s. The stand is formed as a scallop shell supported by two tritons, or messengers of the sea. A rockwork base, cast with shells surrounded by sea foam and waves, was added almost ten years later, probably in response to George IV's increasingly elaborate tastes. As a whole, the centrepiece exemplifies the rococo revival style pioneered by Rundells in the early nineteenth century.