AN EXCEPTIONAL CUT GLASS DECANTER AND STOPPER FROM THE 'PRINCE OF WALES SERVICE', circa 1806-8, by Perrin Geddes & Co., Warrington, the squat cylindrical form elaborately cut with an oval medallion engraved with the Prince of Wales’s feathers and etched motto ‘ICH DIEN’, within a scrollwork border flanked by a band of diamonds, the tapering shoulder cut with spiral flutes outlined in fine diamonds, below a double-neck rim, with a scalloped foot and star-cut underside, the cut pineapple stopper edged with acanthus leaves, 34.8cm high, small numeral '4' wheel engraved just below the rim of the decanter, number '22' engraved in diamond point to the underside of an acanthus leaf of the stopper (2) FOOTNOTES: In 1806 the Prince of Wales visited Liverpool for a grand banquet, for which the Liverpool Corporation commissioned the Warrington firm of Perrin Geddes & Co. to make a cut glass service engraved with the crest of the city. The Prince was so impressed by the service that he asked the Mayor to order him something similar. The Liverpool Corporation ordered a huge suite of table glass as a token of gratitude, instead engraved with the crest of the Prince. The original order consisted of 198 pieces, but this was considered too small for the Prince and a further 144 pieces were commissioned, bringing the total up to 342 pieces costing the princely sum of £1,306.18s. When it was finally delivered to Carlton House in 1808, the Prince thanked them for ‘the most beautiful and ornamental specimens he ever saw of this valuable manufacture’. The unparalleled design of the decanter in the present lot is so sophisticated that the work is sometimes attributed to London glass specialist John Blades, who employed architects as designers. However, the characteristic lustre and colour of the lead glass and deep cutting are certainly characteristic of Warrington. Considering the enormous cost of the service, and that it took over a year to complete, it seems likely that other craftsmen may have been involved. John Unsworth, who styled himself ‘Manufacturer to His Majesty and to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales’, may have been one such craftsman. For a more detailed discussion of this important service, See Cherry and Richard Gray, ‘The Prince's Glasses: Some Warrington Cut Glass 1806-1811’, The Journal of the Glass Association, vol.2 (1987), pp.11-18, C. Hajdamach, British Glass 1800-1914 (1991), pp.39-41, and A. McConnell, The Decanter (2004), pp.274-277 for an illustration of an identical decanter, pl.389. An identical decanter is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, accession no. C.56&A-1976. Of the original 342 pieces of the service, 136 survive in the Royal Collection (accession no. RCIN68275), of which there are 17 such decanters of the same 'medium' size.