
BNPS_BlenheimSilverEmergesFromVaults_07.jpg


BNPS.co.uk (01202 558833)
Pic: PhilYeomans/BNPS
The £500,000 Vanderbilt silver writing set.
Blenheim Palace's treasure finally emerges from its vaults.
A collection of rare silver and gold artefacts which have spent decades in a vault are going on public display for the first time at Blenheim Palace.
The precious objects which include ornate table settings, candelabras, goblets, trays and trophies, have been kept in a strongroom in a private wing of the 18th century World Heritage Site for over a hundred years.
One of the rarest items is a £500,000 solid silver writing set which once belonged to American railroad heiress Consuelo Vanberbilt, known as the Dollar Princess, who married the ninth Duke of Marlborough in 1895.
Consuelo's wedding brought a much needed financial shot in the arm to the Dukedom, at the time of the wedding her family were considered one of the richest in the world, with an estimated fortune reputedly worth around $4 billion in today’s money.
The desk set, which features writhing sea serpents, shells and marine plants, is the work of Frenchman Paul de Lamerie who was considered the greatest silversmith working in England in the 18th century.
Pic: PhilYeomans/BNPS
The £500,000 Vanderbilt silver writing set.
Blenheim Palace's treasure finally emerges from its vaults.
A collection of rare silver and gold artefacts which have spent decades in a vault are going on public display for the first time at Blenheim Palace.
The precious objects which include ornate table settings, candelabras, goblets, trays and trophies, have been kept in a strongroom in a private wing of the 18th century World Heritage Site for over a hundred years.
One of the rarest items is a £500,000 solid silver writing set which once belonged to American railroad heiress Consuelo Vanberbilt, known as the Dollar Princess, who married the ninth Duke of Marlborough in 1895.
Consuelo's wedding brought a much needed financial shot in the arm to the Dukedom, at the time of the wedding her family were considered one of the richest in the world, with an estimated fortune reputedly worth around $4 billion in today’s money.
The desk set, which features writhing sea serpents, shells and marine plants, is the work of Frenchman Paul de Lamerie who was considered the greatest silversmith working in England in the 18th century.
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