This elaborate flagon was made for domestic use but then given to a church, to hold the communion wine. It bears the arms of a Dutch merchant, Francis Tysson, who was an elder of the Dutch Church in Austin Friars, London. It was later owned by the Frankland family of Thirkleby, Yorkshire, who gave it to their parish church.
The pair to the flagon is at Temple Newsam, Leeds.
Physical description
Cylindrical body finely chased with a dolphin and sea monster each on a cartouche against a ground of scrolling foliage and flowers. Spreading moulded foot with border of acanthus foliage. Lid decorated with three panels of birds, against a ground of foliage; moulded knob. Beaded scroll handle ending in a cartouche with a cherub.
Place of Origin
London, England (made)
Date
1646-1647 (made)
Artist/maker
Blackwell, Richard (maker)
Materials and Techniques
Silver
Marks and inscriptions
Mark of a hound sejant in a shaped shield - marks struck on the cover by the finial and on the underside of the foot.
London hallmarks for 1649-7
Engraved with the arms of Francis Tyssen, a Dutch merchant resident in London.
Dimensions
Height: 27.5 cm, Length: 14.8 cm, Weight: 1143 g
Object history note
Originally, one of a pair, the other is now at Temple Newsam House, Leeds.
Historical significance: This flagon, one of a pair, was originally made for secular use and later given to their local parish church by the Frankland family of Thirkleby, Yorkshire.
Historical context note
Gifts to the Church
Gifts were the most important source of English church plate in the 17th century. The donor was usually a prominent member of the community, which in country parishes often meant the local landowner. But gifts came from other sources too. Many were given by women, showing their active involvement with the church. Churchwardens also took pride in commissioning new silver and often contributed to the cost. Occasionally, gifts like Lord Hertford’s chalice and flagon were made to win support for a political cause.
Not all of these gifts were new. Old-fashioned domestic plate, often richly decorated with secular ornament, was welcomed and used for the service of communion or the collection of alms.
Francis Tyssen, a Dutch merchant and elder of the Dutch Church in Austin Friars, London, became a British citizen in 1687 when he was granted armorial bearings which were engraved on the pair of silver flagons then in his ownership. When this flagon (along with its pair) became the property of Thirkleby Church, North Riding, the cartouches engraved with the Tyssen arms were covered over with plain plates. Though the arms were only granted to Francis Tyssen in 1687, he may have been using them for some time before.
Descriptive line
Silver, London hallmarks for 1646-7, mark unidentified.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Carl Hernmark. The Art of the European Silversmith', 1977, plate 262 James Lomax, British Silver at Temple Newsam and Lotherton Hall, Leeds, Leeds Art Collections Fund, 1992, pp.49-51, no.33. ISBN 0901286311
Eric Smith, 'Richard Blackwell & Son', The Silver Society Journal, 15, 2003, pp.19-46, fig. 1, p.31
Exhibition History
Gifts to the Church (Sacred Silver and Stained Glass Galleries, the Victoria and Albert Museum 22/11/2005-22/11/2005)
English Silver from the 16th to the 20th century, Moscow and Leningrad (01/01/1978-31/12/1978)
Exhibition of Silver Treasures from English Churches (Christie, Manson and Woods 01/01/1955-31/12/1955)
Yorkshire Church Plate (Temple Newsam, Leeds 01/01/1954-31/12/1954)
Labels and date
Flagon
This elaborate flagon was made for domestic use but then given to a church, to hold the communion wine. It bears the arms of a Dutch merchant, Francis Tysson, who was an elder of the Dutch Church in Austin Friars, London. It was later owned by the Frankland family of Thirkleby, Yorkshire, who gave it to their parish church.
The pair to the flagon is at Temple Newsam, Leeds.
London, England, 1646–7; maker’s mark a hound
sejant (attributed to Richard Blackwell)
Silver
Museum no. M.537-1956
Presented by the National Art Collections Fund [09/12/2004]
Associated names
Francis Tyssen
Materials
Silver
Techniques
Engraving (incising); Chasing; Raising
Subjects depicted
Flowers; Birds; Foliage; Dolphin
Categories
Metalwork; Christianity
Collection code
MET
