DALLAS — November 15 marked Heritage Auction’s Fine Silver & Objects of Vertu Signature Auction, which totaled just over $1.8 million with 502 shining lots sold. The trophy of these was an 1851 silver covered cup wrought by John Samuel Hunt (1785-1865), known as the Lilford Falconry Centerpiece, which garnered $56,250. Hunt was one half of the London firm Hunt & Roskell that created finely crafted jewelry, tableware and presentation pieces. Hunt & Roskell displayed at the 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition and was favored by the Russian court. This covered cup celebrates the ancient sport of falconry with many decorations of birds of prey and other accoutrements of the sport, and a sculptural image of a falconer retrieving game from his bird’s hunt. More on this and other winning lots in a future issue.