Photograph
ca. 1860-1870 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This albumen print, a type of photograph, dating to the 1860s-1870s, is by an unknown photographer and shows an ewer and a communion cup above which is a paten made by the firm of Francis Skidmore (1817-1896) known as Skidmore & Co., Coventry. The photograph is thus a record of the work done and comes from an archive of designs and photographs from the firm. Skidmore was a leading Victorian metalworker in the Gothic Revival style, which was an architectural movement the nineteenth-century practitioners of which sought to revive medieval forms. In addition to church plate Skidmore produced light fittings and furniture but was best known for his innovative architectural ironwork.
All the vessels shown in this photograph were used in the Christian liturgy or service. The ewer holds the eucharistic wine and the communion cup is an ecclesiastical drinking vessel for the wine. Patens were shallow plates on which the large Host rests at times before and after consecration.
All the vessels shown in this photograph were used in the Christian liturgy or service. The ewer holds the eucharistic wine and the communion cup is an ecclesiastical drinking vessel for the wine. Patens were shallow plates on which the large Host rests at times before and after consecration.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Albumen print on paper |
| Brief description | Photograph of an ewer, chalice and paten by Francis Skimore, 1860 -1870. |
| Physical description | Photograph in the form of a brownish albumen print of an ewer and chalice above which is a paten. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | 'BX/- - xxx / E (illegible inscription) /YB / E (illegible inscription) / EX / L/ W / L /YB /
FA Skidmore Coventry' (In pencil on the back. The letters may refer to a price code although it is unclear why there are four sets for the three items in the photograph.) |
| Credit line | Purchased with the assistance of the Friends of the National Libraries |
| Object history | The provenance is the grand-daughter of Francis Skidmore. |
| Production | 'The photograph showing a group of church plate is unidentified. However, the ewer with grapes at top and bottom of the handle seems to be a variation on a design that Skidmore used frequently as this motif can be seen in the chromolithograph of Skidmore's church plate shown in the Great Exhibituion of 1851 and on a flagon from All Saints, Bisley, Gloucestershire. The paten is very similar to one from Whitnash parish church, Warwickshire. Skidmore produced a lot of silver church plate in the 1840s and early 1850s and he continued making some even when he branched out into architectural metalwork so this set could have been made anytime between 1845 and about 1870.' Annette Wickham RF 2001/1166. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This albumen print, a type of photograph, dating to the 1860s-1870s, is by an unknown photographer and shows an ewer and a communion cup above which is a paten made by the firm of Francis Skidmore (1817-1896) known as Skidmore & Co., Coventry. The photograph is thus a record of the work done and comes from an archive of designs and photographs from the firm. Skidmore was a leading Victorian metalworker in the Gothic Revival style, which was an architectural movement the nineteenth-century practitioners of which sought to revive medieval forms. In addition to church plate Skidmore produced light fittings and furniture but was best known for his innovative architectural ironwork. All the vessels shown in this photograph were used in the Christian liturgy or service. The ewer holds the eucharistic wine and the communion cup is an ecclesiastical drinking vessel for the wine. Patens were shallow plates on which the large Host rests at times before and after consecration. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.414-2006 |
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| Record created | October 31, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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