George IV Silver (1820 - 1830)

Upon his father's death, George IV was crowned King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. He was already well versed in the duties of the King having performed them for the last 9 years, whilst his father was suffering from mental illness. These Regency years had seen victory in the Napoleonic Wars and George IV must have come to the throne with a certain degree of confidence.

Today, George IV is remembered mostly for his extravagant lifestyle of drinking, womanising and gambling that scandalised the country and got him heavily into debt. It is reported that every time he had intimate relations with a woman he would cut a lock of her hair and place it in an envelope with her name on it. Upon his death an astounding 7000 such envelopes were discovered.

Amongst his other pleasures, George IV was a great patron of the arts. His taste was for the most opulent of designs, influenced by the art and merchandise coming into Britain from its numerous colonies around the world. The most famous of his follies is the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, which wonderfully combines Indian and Chinese exoticism with English eccentricity.

George IV silverware continued the trend started during his Regency for showy, opulent silverware designs. England, with more new wealth than ever before and still dizzy from its success both in the Napoleonic war and with trade from the colonies, had a thirst for silverware that impressed. Larger silverware items with plenty of bright cut silver engraving and often heavy cast and applied silver ornamental work were the order of the day.