The Georgian silver gorget and shoulder plate were emblazoned with the Royal Dragon of the recently disbanded regiment and its motto Veteri Frondescit Honore. Both hallmarked London 1795, the shoulder plate for Charles Watts, the gorget possibly for Francis Thurkle, these items were crisply engraved, attractively patinated.
The gorget, which had a distinct ‘step’ normally associated with older examples had an aesthetic which could be appreciated by collectors outside the field of arms and armour. In fact, both items had been
consigned to the sale by a dealer in general silver and they sold to a retired officer from the East Kent Regiment.
The plate made £1100 and the gorget £1800.
East Kents rise again to triumph in an Oxford skirmish
AS dealers and collectors of antique arms and armour converged on London to do battle in the salerooms of Christie’s and Bonhams a skirmish was taking place 50 miles away in the Oxford salerooms of Phillips (15/10 per cent buyer’s premium) on July 18, where a field of 245 lots included these two members of the East Kent Regiment.
