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Beaker

1525-1526 (hallmarked)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This late medieval beaker is a very rare survival: many precious metal objects of this period were later melted down to create more fashionable items. Its form imitates earlier German drinking glasses. Its proportions appear to be unique in silver, suggesting it may have been converted from a font-shaped cup, though it shows no physical evidence of alteration. The almost complete destruction of domestic plate from the early 16th century makes such conjectures mere speculation, and it is quite possible that this is a solitary survival of a once common form.

This piece is an example of 16th century domestic silver. Such silver was both functional and ornamental. Objects for dining and drinking took elegant forms and were decorated in the latest styles. Beautifully crafted items intended only for display often adopted functional forms such as cups and dishes. Domestic silver was not confined to the most wealthy. Many people owned silver spoons or mounted vessels, items which often became treasured possessions.

Sir Arthur and Rosalinde Gilbert began collecting in the 1960s and over a period of 40 years formed one of the world’s great private collections of decorative arts. The collection consists of over 800 objects from the fields of European gold and silver, Italian mosaics and hardstone, portrait enamels and gold boxes. Sir Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996 to be housed at Somerset House, London, having previously been displayed at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). In 2008 the collection was moved to dedicated galleries in the V&A, where a selection has been on permanent display ever since.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Raised, moulded, stamped, flat-chased and partially gilded silver
Brief description
Silver, parcel-gilt, London hallmarks for 1525-1526, mark (unidentified)
Physical description
A shallow circular bowl with gilt interior and slightly spreading sides, flat chased with a broad band consisting of three tiers on imbricated lobes and standing on a circular moulded foot.
Dimensions
  • Height: 5.7cm
  • Diameter: 10.3cm
  • Weight: 220g
Updated with measurements taken by Issy Warnham 20/12/23 9cm diameter of base
Marks and inscriptions
  • London hallmarks for 1525-26
  • Mark: SC or a Rebus (Unidentified (Jackson, p.94))
Gallery label
(Gallery 70, case 1) 7. Lobed beaker 1525–1526 London, England; maker’s mark possibly SC or a rebus Partially gilded silver Museum no. Loan:Gilbert.577-2008(16/11/2016)
Credit line
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Object history
Provenance: J. Dunn Gardner, sale, Christie's, lot 130, April 29, 1902. J. Pierpont Morgan. The Morgan Family, sale, Christie's, New York, lot 58, October 26, 1982.
Production
Maker's mark possibly sc or a rebus (Jackson, p. 94)
Summary
This late medieval beaker is a very rare survival: many precious metal objects of this period were later melted down to create more fashionable items. Its form imitates earlier German drinking glasses. Its proportions appear to be unique in silver, suggesting it may have been converted from a font-shaped cup, though it shows no physical evidence of alteration. The almost complete destruction of domestic plate from the early 16th century makes such conjectures mere speculation, and it is quite possible that this is a solitary survival of a once common form.

This piece is an example of 16th century domestic silver. Such silver was both functional and ornamental. Objects for dining and drinking took elegant forms and were decorated in the latest styles. Beautifully crafted items intended only for display often adopted functional forms such as cups and dishes. Domestic silver was not confined to the most wealthy. Many people owned silver spoons or mounted vessels, items which often became treasured possessions.

Sir Arthur and Rosalinde Gilbert began collecting in the 1960s and over a period of 40 years formed one of the world’s great private collections of decorative arts. The collection consists of over 800 objects from the fields of European gold and silver, Italian mosaics and hardstone, portrait enamels and gold boxes. Sir Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996 to be housed at Somerset House, London, having previously been displayed at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). In 2008 the collection was moved to dedicated galleries in the V&A, where a selection has been on permanent display ever since.
Bibliographic references
  • Jackson, Charles James. An Illustrated History of English Plate, Ecclesiastical and Secular. London: Country Life/B.T. Batsford, 2 Vols. 1911. Reprint. New York: Dover Publications, 1969. Vol. 2, fig. 890, p. 684.
  • Jones, E., Alfred. The Gold and Silver of Windsor Castle. Letchworth: Arden Press, 1911, p. XI, 2, pl. I.
  • Jones, E. Alfred. Old silver of Europe and North America from early times to the nineteenth century. London: B.T. Batsford, 1928, p. 97, pl. XXVIII, no. 6.
  • Taylor, Gerald. Silver Through the Ages. 2nd ed. London: Cassell and Company, 1964, p. 80
  • Clayton, Michael. The Collector's dictionary of the silver and gold of Great Britain and North America. 2nd ed. [Woodbridge, Suffolk]: Antique Collectors' Club, 1985, p. 30.
  • Clayton, Michael. Christie's pictorial history of English and American silver. Oxford: Phaidon/Christie's, 1985, p.10, no.1. ISBN.0714880183
  • Schroder, Timothy. 'Early English silver rarities'. The Antique Collector. June 1986, vol. 57, no. 6, fig. 3, p. 116-17.
  • Schroder, Timothy. The Gilbert collection of gold and silver. Los Angeles (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) 1988, cat. no. 2, pp.35-37. ISBN.0875871445
Other numbers
  • SG 146 - Arthur Gilbert Number
  • 1996.679 - The Gilbert Collection, Somerset House
  • GB 215 - Arthur Gilbert Number
  • 1998.17 - The Gilbert Collection, Somerset House
Collection
Accession number
LOAN:GILBERT.577-2008

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Record createdJune 19, 2008
Record URL
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