Digby Scott & Benjamin Smith

Digby Scott and Benjamin Smith were London silversmiths operating in the first part of the 19th Century.

Their partnership is acknowledged as producing some of the finest silver work of the time. Scott and Smith ran workshops between 1802 and 1807 in Greenwich, London and during this time were the primary silver masterpieces suppliers to Rundell, Bridge and Rundell. These were the official ‘Jeweller, Gold and Silversmiths to the Crown’ between 1798 and 1843 and were the most prestigious jewellers in London, supplying the official plate requested by the Lord Chamberlain’s Office.

It appears that Digby Scott was in Birmingham in 1797 and had moved to London by 1802 when Scott and Smith entered their first mark from their Greenwich address. They entered a second mark in 1803 but they appear to have split up in 1807 when Smith entered a separate mark for himself.

They worked in the classical revival style using motifs such as grapevines and rams’ heads crafted in superb and sumptuous detail. An example of their best work are the Duke of York Baskets, created for the second son of George III, Frederick Augustus. These fine pieces are now exhibited at the Powerhouse Museum in Australia.