English: Epergne- The Wynyard Testimonial made by Smith and Nicholson (estab. circa 1850 – closed before 1880) Stephen Smith and William Nicholson London, England, hallmarked 1858 sterling silver, glass Colonel Robert H Wynyard estate, 1992.7, S963 (S1003) English born Colonel Robert Henry Wynyard (1802 - 1864) was first posted to New Zealand in 1845. After a short sojourn in New South Wales, he returned in 1847. Wynyard held a number of offices in this country including Lieutenant Colonel of Her Majesty’s 58th Regiment, Officer administering the Government of New Zealand and Superintendent of the Auckland Province. He was acting Governor of New Zealand from 1854 to 1855 and Patron of the Auckland Museum when it opened in 1852. In appreciation and proof of the ‘abilities, integrity and urbanity’ which characterised Wynyard’s official residency in New Zealand from 1845 to 1858, he was presented three hundred gold sovereigns by ‘the Inhabitants of the City and Province of Auckland.’ Wynyard purchased this centrepiece from the renowned London makers Smith and Nicholson who specialised in naturalistic fantasies of presentation silver, and had shown works at the Great Exhibition in 1852. The ornate form of the testimonial is characteristic of the rococo-revival style popular in early to mid-nineteenth century England, with its combination of a complex, curvilinear style and floral elements of the rococo, and the newly popular naturalism of the Victorian period. Wynyard’s Testimonial is consciously patriotic in its New Zealand subject matter – the emblematic British soldier and maori male, female and child and the ponga (silver tree fern) exemplify nineteenth-century taste for the allegorical in decoration, and gave a readily understandable significance to presentation pieces as a mark of regard and esteem. The Wynyard Testimonial The Wynyard Testimonial is a stunning sterling silver Victorian epergne which is now displayed in the Encounter, the New Zealand design and decorative arts gallery. It was made by the renowned makers Smith and Nicholson of London in 1859 for Colonel Robert Henry Wynyard (1802 - 1864), who held military and administrative offices in New Zealand from 1845 to 1858, including Colonel of her Majesty’s 58th Regiment and the first Superintendent of the Auckland Province. He was also Patron of the Auckland Museum when it opened in 1852. Wynyard purchased the tablepiece with “three hundred gold sovereigns” donated by the citizens of the Province of Auckland in appreciation of his service. An epergne is a centrepiece for a dining table and this example would have held fruit, nuts and other small items in its three suspended cut glass bowls. The naturalistic design represents nineteenth-century New Zealand themes – the figures of a Maori man, woman and child, and a soldier from the 58th Regiment beneath a central ponga tree (silver fern) which is wrapped around with vines that branch out to hold the glass bowls. Caption details The Wynyard Testimonial made by Smith and Nicholson (estab. circa 1850 – closed before 1880) Stephen Smith and William Nicholson London, England, hallmarked 1858 sterling silver, glass Colonel Robert H Wynyard estate, 1992.7, S963 (S1003)