This pouring vessel, one of a pair, was given by Daniel Hollingworth to St Augustine's church in the City of London in 1631.The English Reformation allowed lay people to take communion wine and thus created a need for vessels to hold the wine. This was often met by gifts of domestic plate that was no longer in fashion.
This object would once have been part of the buffet. The buffet of plate was an important feature of medieval and Renaissance banquets. Often made of oak or walnut, buffets usually stood at the side of a dining room, their shelves filled with tablewares. Gold and silver vessels were displayed to convey a sense of the owner's wealth. Normally these vessels were used for the service of food and drink, but on great state occasions they would be set out purely for display.
Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world’s great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.
Physical description
Silver-gilt flagon of slightly tapering cylindrical form standing on a spreading foot stamped with a band of fluting and foliage, with a short, tapering section above and a moulded band applied to the base of the body. On the underside of the base is engraved "Austins Parish Church". The body has a moulded lip and is flat-chased with a band of strapwork and foliage on a ground of punched circles. In the centre of the band is an escutcheon with an inscription above. The domed cover is stamped with decoration similar to that of the foot and embossed with a band of lion masks, strapwork and fruit on matted ground, with a similar escutcheon in the centre. The S-scrolled handle is engraved with foliage arabesques; it has a hatched, triangular lower terminal and a bar-and-scroll thumbpiece.
Place of Origin
London, England (assayed)
Date
1610-1611 (hallmarked)
Artist/maker
John Middleton, born 1827 - died 1856 (probably, maker)
Materials and Techniques
Silver-gilt, raised, engraved, flat-chased, punched, stamped, embossed, matted
Marks and inscriptions
London hallmarks for 1610-11
Mark of John Middleton
Engraved on the underside of the base: Austins Parish Church
Dimensions
Height: 27.8 cm, Width: 20 cm, Diameter: 13.5 cm, Weight: 1280 g
Object history note
Provenance: Daniel Hollingworth. St. Augustine's Church, Watling Street, London. St. Mary-le-Bow Church, Cheapside, London, sale, Christie's, lot 405, July 11 1984.
Descriptive line
Silver-gilt, London hallmarks for 1610-11, mark of John Middleton
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Freshfield, Edwin. The Communion Plate of the Parish Churches in the County of London. London and Middlesex Archaeology Group [printed by Rixon & Arnold], 1894, p. 17.
Clayton, Michael. Christie's pictorial history of English and American silver. Oxford: Phaidon/Christie's, 1985, cat. no. 2, p. 50. ISBN.0714880183
Schroder, Timothy. 'Early English silver rarities'. The Antique Collector. June 1986, vol. 57, no. 6, fig. 7, p. 121.
Schroder, Timothy. The Gilbert collection of gold and silver. Los Angeles (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) 1988, cat. no. 16, pp. 80-85. ISBN.0875871445
Exhibition History
[No title] (Victoria and Albert Museum 01/01/1915-31/12/1984)
Materials
Silver-gilt
Techniques
Gilding; Engraving (incising); Embossing; Raising; Punching; Stamping (marking); Flat chasing; Matting
Categories
Metalwork
Collection code
MET
