ROBERT HARPER (British w. 1869-1882) A VICTORIAN PERIOD STERLING SILVER TWO-HANDLED FOOTED BOWL, LONDON, ENGLAND, 1878-1879, the hemispherical bowl with swirled gadrooned decoration to the base and edge of the spreading foot, with "C" scrolled handles to each side, monogrammed "FB" on the front and engraved "TO KHIVA, AND BACK" on a rustic street sign on the back, stamped on the bottom (leopard's head), (lion passant), (duty mark), "RH," "C," "148, 73," total approximate silver weight: 8.91 troy ounces. Height: 2 3/4" Width: 7" Depth: 5" Provenance: The personal collection of Colonel Frederick Gustavus Burnaby, member of the Royal Horse Guards, a cavalry regiment of the British Army. NOTE: Frederick Gustavus Burnaby was born in Bedfordshire County in 1842. A man of towering stature and robust character, he joined the Royal Horse Guards in 1859. Captain Burnaby was a skilled swordsman and linguist which facilitated his travels throughout Europe, Asia and Africa during the middle of the 19th century. It was on these expeditions that he penned his two journals "A Ride to Khiva", 1875 and "On Horseback through Asia Minor", 1876. Burnaby subsequently served in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877 and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He returned to England and married Elizabeth Hawkins-Whitshed in 1879. His adventurous spirit carried him on a hot air balloon crossing of the English Channel in 1882, as a special foreign correspondent for The Times and as an intelligence officer during various North African military campaigns. Colonel Burnaby met his end in hand to hand combat during the Battle of Abu Klea, Egypt, in 1885. It is said that when informed of the Colonel's demise, Queen Victoria was so overcome that she fainted.

In overall good condition, the bowl slightly out of round, with minor surface rubbing and scratching commensurate with age and use.

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