Steeple Cup
1618-1619 (hallmarked)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Steeple cups, named after their distinctive pyramidal finial on top, were a typically English form. They were mostly made for display on the buffet and were sometimes supplied in sets of three.
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 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.
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 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 | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Raised, stamped, cast, engraved and embossed gilded silver (silver-gilt) |
| Brief description | Silver-gilt steeple cup, unidentified mark of CB in monogram, London, 1618-1619 |
| Physical description | Silver-gilt cup standing on a high-waisted foot, the baluster stem terminates above and below with cast foliage disks, with three applied scroll brackets supporting the upper disk. The tapering bowl of the cup is embossed with an acanthus calyx, beneath the lip is an engraved band of strapwork. The domed cover is embossed with foliage, at the centre is a circular drum with a stamped and fluted border which supports the 'steeple' finial which is surmounted by a baluster element and an obelisk. |
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| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
| Object history | Provenance: Probably John, First Baron Poulett, Hinton St. George, Somerset. Lord Astor of Hever, sale, Christie's, lot 101, June 24, 1981. Acquired by Arthur Gilbert from S.J. Phillips Ltd, London, 1981. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Steeple cups, named after their distinctive pyramidal finial on top, were a typically English form. They were mostly made for display on the buffet and were sometimes supplied in sets of three. 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 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 reference | Schroder, Timothy. The Gilbert collection of gold and silver. Los Angeles (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) 1988, cat. no.17, pp. 86-89. ISBN.0875871445 |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.531:1, 2-2008 |
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| Record created | June 26, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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