A Regency silver cream jug, Phillip Rundell, London, 1819, Lot 29 in Roseberys’ Silver sale, November 2024

Rundell, Bridge and Rundell was one of England’s most celebrated gold and silversmithing firms and the partnership dominated the early nineteenth-century market for luxury goods, selling gold boxes, silver, bronzes, jewellery, and regalia.

Philip Rundell (1743-1827) was a prominent figure in the silver trade and on his death he was said to be the wealthiest tradesman in the Kingdom'. In 1788, he formed a partnership with John Bridge (1755-1834) in London and a year later the two were appointed Royal Goldsmiths and Jewellers, holding the title until 1843 and serving four monarchs, from George III to Queen Victoria. Among the masterpieces that they created for their royal patrons, were the Imperial State Crown for Queen Victoria’s coronation in 1838 and the Grand Service for George IV. The name of the firm changed to Rundell, Bridge and Rundell when Edmond Walter Rundell, nephew of Philip Rundell, was admitted as a partner in 1804.

A pair of George IV silver salvers, John Bridge for Rundell, Bridge and Rundell, London, 1827, Lot 82 in Roseberys’ Silver sale, November 2024

The company saw its peak during the first decade of the 19th century, after England’s naval victories against Napoleon. By that time Rundell, Bridge and Rundell had built a silver empire, trading in South America, India, Europe and the Middle East. In 1807, Rundell, Bridge and Rundell employed Paul Storr (1770-1844), the most celebrated English silversmith of all time. Storr worked with the firm until 1819, when he went to establish his own workshop. Other notable employees of the company were the sculptor and draughtsman John Flaxman (1755-1826), who designed and modelled silverware, and the silversmiths Digby Scott and Benjamin Smith.

A George IV silver bowl, Rundell, Bridge and Rundell, London, c. 1828, Lot 71 in Roseberys’ Fine & Decorative sale, November 2020

Philip Rundell retired in 1823 but John Bridge remained in the business until his death, in 1834. Bridge’s nephew succeeded him until 1843, when the firm was dissolved.

Works by Rundell, Bridge and Rundell can be found in collections around the world, including The Metropolitan Museum in New York, The British Museum in London and The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. The Victoria & Albert Museum in London holds various works by the firm, including a gilded cup with cover made for George IV to be gifted to the Earl of Ormonde and Ossory, one of the King’s chief attendants at his coronation in 1821.