Cup and Cover
ca. 1735 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
By the 1730s, covered cups were no longer primarily intended as drinking vessels. They may still have been drunk from on ceremonial occasions, but were now more important as objects for display and as fine gifts passed between gentlemen.
Decoration
This cup and cover are of a standard symmetrical form. It has, however, been overlaid with elaborate decoration, transforming it into a thoroughly contemporary display piece of the early Rococo phase. A Bacchic theme, referring to the cup's original function as a ceremonial drinking vessel (Bacchus was the god of wine), can be seen in the engraved scenes around the upper part of the body. This theme is further emphasised by the scrolled strapwork and fruiting vine decoration around the body, foot and cover, terminating in the boldly-modelled basket of grapes serving as the finial.
Workshop Practices
There are a number of very similar cups and covers by different makers which date to the late 1730s and early 1740s, suggesting not only close cooperation between leading goldsmiths, but the possibility that a single workshop made all the cups, or at least the casting models, and supplied them to different makers.
Tax
This cup is a 'duty dodger', a piece that was not submitted to the Assay Office for hallmarking, therefore avoiding the excise duty price of 6d per ounce payable at assay. The saving in this instance would have been a considerable £2.10s, as this cup and cover weigh 101 troy ounces. George Wickes was one of a number of eminent goldsmiths who practised duty-dodging.
By the 1730s, covered cups were no longer primarily intended as drinking vessels. They may still have been drunk from on ceremonial occasions, but were now more important as objects for display and as fine gifts passed between gentlemen.
Decoration
This cup and cover are of a standard symmetrical form. It has, however, been overlaid with elaborate decoration, transforming it into a thoroughly contemporary display piece of the early Rococo phase. A Bacchic theme, referring to the cup's original function as a ceremonial drinking vessel (Bacchus was the god of wine), can be seen in the engraved scenes around the upper part of the body. This theme is further emphasised by the scrolled strapwork and fruiting vine decoration around the body, foot and cover, terminating in the boldly-modelled basket of grapes serving as the finial.
Workshop Practices
There are a number of very similar cups and covers by different makers which date to the late 1730s and early 1740s, suggesting not only close cooperation between leading goldsmiths, but the possibility that a single workshop made all the cups, or at least the casting models, and supplied them to different makers.
Tax
This cup is a 'duty dodger', a piece that was not submitted to the Assay Office for hallmarking, therefore avoiding the excise duty price of 6d per ounce payable at assay. The saving in this instance would have been a considerable £2.10s, as this cup and cover weigh 101 troy ounces. George Wickes was one of a number of eminent goldsmiths who practised duty-dodging.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Silver, cast and chased |
| Brief description | Silver, English Silver, English |
| Physical description | Two handled cup and cover |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions | Engraved with the arms of the Hon. John Scrope |
| Gallery label | British Galleries:
The silversmith has transformed an otherwise plain, bell-shaped cup by applying a wealth of Rococo decoration. This includes scrollwork 'straps', fluttering leaves and fruiting vine trails. You can see the shell-like Rococo motif known as 'rocaille' at the junction of the handles.(27/03/2003) |
| Object history | Made in the London workshop of George Wickes (born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, 1698, died in Thurston, Suffolk, 1761) and bearing his mark on the cup |
| Summary | Object Type By the 1730s, covered cups were no longer primarily intended as drinking vessels. They may still have been drunk from on ceremonial occasions, but were now more important as objects for display and as fine gifts passed between gentlemen. Decoration This cup and cover are of a standard symmetrical form. It has, however, been overlaid with elaborate decoration, transforming it into a thoroughly contemporary display piece of the early Rococo phase. A Bacchic theme, referring to the cup's original function as a ceremonial drinking vessel (Bacchus was the god of wine), can be seen in the engraved scenes around the upper part of the body. This theme is further emphasised by the scrolled strapwork and fruiting vine decoration around the body, foot and cover, terminating in the boldly-modelled basket of grapes serving as the finial. Workshop Practices There are a number of very similar cups and covers by different makers which date to the late 1730s and early 1740s, suggesting not only close cooperation between leading goldsmiths, but the possibility that a single workshop made all the cups, or at least the casting models, and supplied them to different makers. Tax This cup is a 'duty dodger', a piece that was not submitted to the Assay Office for hallmarking, therefore avoiding the excise duty price of 6d per ounce payable at assay. The saving in this instance would have been a considerable £2.10s, as this cup and cover weigh 101 troy ounces. George Wickes was one of a number of eminent goldsmiths who practised duty-dodging. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.280&A-1975 |
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| Record created | April 27, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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