S0125S.GRANVILLESEALSG.M   Extreme rare iconic superb fom shaft and globe c1665/70 with long taperend elgen neck and marvered angular globular body, shallow kickup with blowpipe pontil, wide saturn ring stringrim, well below everted snapped offfiresmoothed lip. Overall pitted matte surface. Large seal applied to shoulder with deeply impressed seal showing definite ducal coronet, and familiar Order of the Garter crowned garter border reading "Honi Soit Que Mal Y Pense" around crest of winged Griffin passant standing on cap of Maintenance. Crest of Granville. The most fitting provenance we have points to an intriguing character. John Gaspar Ferdinand de Marchin, Comte de Granville who made Order of the Garter in 1658 by Charles II and has a very interesting but not so successul army career ! The coronet is one for a duke, and I think there is some tongue in cheek going on here. The Comte de Granville was a Walloon military commander and King Charles who liked him a lot made him a Knight of the garter in 1658. That crest belongs to the Granville name and I believe they used his Comte de Granville title (which refers to place) as a "similar sounding" name enough to allow him to use this crest,  otherwise it would have proved an embarrassment to King Charles II who had given him this honour even though he didn't posess a classic English form of title or associated crested coat of arms. Not a classic or normally acceptable procedure, and probably frowned upon, but who was going to argue with Charles II?.....  (and what clever face-saving courtier might have suggested it?) and The Comte would proudly have used it on his bottle seals. All quite fascinating.
There was also John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath living from 1628-1701, another nobleman, using the basic crest of a griffin on the cap of maintenance who was awarded Baron Granville, Viscount Granville and 1st Earl of Bath, but he was not made a Duke, nor awarded Order of the Garter. think that this is the critical point to discover if one is to attribute the bottle to him with conviction. So we have two potentials, the Comte De Granville who used his influence with his buddy Charles II to overcome the heraldic problems that were raised by his needing an English crest for his bottles, or the First Earl of Bath, for whom the Ducal coronet doesn’t fit, nor was there an Order of the Garter.  It strikes me as too much coincidence that there was a person plainly awarded the Order, AND had  “Granville” in his existing list of title for it not to be used even tongue in cheek. so I do feel confident in attributing to the Comte. if one looks more closely at the coronet one coud say it was not a 100% true Ducal coronet but one something like it, almost between that and a Marquis coronet....and another titel of the Comte was "Marchese de Clemond" ..Marquis-Marchese...?  very, very close. Even the Heralds are not going to raise argument against Charles II particularly when there are arguments to support this "sounds like attitude!" So a great bottle with a great story! and an historical  conundrum...
V shaped chip approx 3/8" to rear of lip, iridesced over. 9 1/4"high, 5 3/4"diameter   £ Please ask for price