A SET OF THREE VICTORIAN SILVER FIRST CHINA WAR FIGURES, HUNT & ROSKELL, LONDON, 1843/44 representing combatants of the First China War (or First Opium War, 1839-42), faithfully modelled and with a variety of surface treatments, depicting a Chinese soldier wearing a tunic of the Imperial army, with long pigtail under his pointed hat and holding a Chinese matchlock gun of the period, a Royal Marine in typical uniform, with shako and coatee, balancing a percussion musket to his shoulder, his knapsack, bayonet and cartridge box on his back, and a Royal Navy Able Seaman dressed in a straw sennet hat over 'sailor's slops' including a peacoat, striped shirt and wide trousers, a pair of pistols to his belt, originally holding a boarding pike (now lacking), all with maker's, duty and standard marks (all maker's marks of John Mortimer & John Samuel Hunt, excepting the Chinese gun with John Samuel Hunt's mark entered in 1844), each fixed by the feet to later circular stands in ebonised wood, tallest 27cm high excluding stand, 32.5cm high overall Provenance: Admiral Sir Henry Smith KCB (1803-1887); thence by family descent to the vendor Originally these figures were mounted on the base of a massive silver candelabrum centrepiece, made for presentation to Henry Smith, at the time a captain in the Royal Navy. In March 1844 the London 'Morning Herald' reported on a quantity of presentation plate in production at Hunt & Roskell, including two silver testimonials: 'which are now to be seen at their establishment... The second testimonial is in the form of a candelabrum, recording one of the principal exploits of the late Chinese war, in which Capt. Smith, R.N., of her Majesty’s ship Druid, was the chief actor. The shaft is a plain column, wreathed with olive, and surmounted by the figure of Britannia; on the pedestal are a British sailor with a boarding pike, a marine leaning on his musket, and a Chinese soldier with his fantastical matchlock. The base is supported by dolphins, and on one side is a bas-relief representing the action between the Druid and the Chinese junks. The execution of this testimonial is no less creditable than that of the first to the skill and taste of the artists employed.’ ( The Morning Herald, London, Wednesday, 6 March 1844, p.5f). Quantities of testimonial silver were produced in the 19th century, often of wonderful quality and size, but changing fashions and circumstances meant a high proportion were later consigned to auction by the descendants of the original recipients. Bought by the trade, almost invariably these large and unfashionable pieces would be melted down, the most dangerous period probably being from the 1940s to the early 60s. Although the original candelabrum seems to have disappeared, happily in this case Admiral Smith's family elected to save these figures.