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Hairbrush, rectangular with rounded corners, comprising a brush with a back in pale coloured-timber, and pale bristles, all modern, and a silver gilt cover of c.1768; the cover with pierced and engraved sides, terminating in acanthus leaves, folded under the brush rim, the top ornamented in relief with flowers and foliage and engraved with the arms of Williams-Wynn impaling Somerset, pendant from a ribbon bow, and within palm fronds, edged in relief with a border of foliate scrolls, and with a prominent diagonal acanthus leaf at each corner.

This spectacular toilet service was given as a gift by Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn’s mother to her new daughter-in-law, Henrietta Somerset, in 1768. Silver toilet services, comprising a mirror, candlesticks and boxes for jewellery and patches, became a symbol of rank and high status from the 1660s. They were displayed on dressing tables with rich lace covers. Thomas Heming was principal goldsmith to the King, and this service is similar to the one he had made two years earlier for the Queen of Denmark.