Silver soup tureen and cover, liner and stand presented to Lord Amelius Beauclerk (1771-1846), when Captain of HMS ‘Dryad’ in 1796.

The oval body of the tureen has a cable border, and on each side is an oval cartouche surrounded by trophies of arms, one containing the Beauclerk coat of arms with the motto: 'AUSPICIUM MELIORIS AEVI', the other an inscription: 'Presented by the Committee for encouraging the Capture of FRENCH PRIVATEERS, Armed vessels etc. To LORD AMELIUS BEAUCLERK of his Majesty's Ship DRYAD, in acknowledgment of his very gallant behaviour in the capture of LA PROSERPINE French Frigate, in the Action on the 13th Inst and in testimony of the high sense this Committee entertain of the protection he has thereby afforded to the commerce of Great Britain, London 23rd June 1796'.

The scroll handles of the tureen are decorated with acanthus leaves and ropework and there is an inner border of laurel on the foot. There is a silver-plated removable inner liner. The high lid is decorated with acanthus leaves, and surmounted by a finial in the form of a reclining figure of Neptune with his trident and a dolphin. The oval stand has a border of dolphins with their tails twisted and a cable rim.

Amelius Beauclerk, while in command of the 44-gun 'Dryad', took the French frigate 'Proserpine', 42 guns, on the coast of Ireland on 13 June 1796, with the loss of only two of his men and seven wounded. Shortly afterwards he also captured three French privateers. By the end of his life he had risen to be Admiral of the Red, and had been appointed Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to both William IV and Queen Victoria.