mug
Child's Mug
1860-1869 (made)
1860-1869 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
George John Cayley (1826-78), son of the MP Edward Stillingfleet Cayley, was an eccentric.. Besides dabbling in poetry and writing a light-hearted book on travels in Spain, he was a gifted artist (he illustrated some of his own books) and a craftsman known for his metalwork. In 1862 he and the painter George Frederick Watts worked together to design the challenge shield for a shooting championship at Wimbledon.
In 1870 he went to live in Algiers to try and improve his health. There he played tennis as long as his health permitted — “longer, it might be said” according to recollections of him in a 1909 edition of his Spanish travel book. This was shortly before lawn tennis as we know it became established. During spells in England he worked with a carpenter and cabinet-maker, William Button Maslen from near Swansea, to develop new types of tennis racket. In January 1875 the Edinburgh Review, which is still in existence, published his article, 'Lusio Pilaris and Lawn Tennis', which was the first ever article on lawn tennis.
In 1870 he went to live in Algiers to try and improve his health. There he played tennis as long as his health permitted — “longer, it might be said” according to recollections of him in a 1909 edition of his Spanish travel book. This was shortly before lawn tennis as we know it became established. During spells in England he worked with a carpenter and cabinet-maker, William Button Maslen from near Swansea, to develop new types of tennis racket. In January 1875 the Edinburgh Review, which is still in existence, published his article, 'Lusio Pilaris and Lawn Tennis', which was the first ever article on lawn tennis.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | mug (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Silver, raised and embossed |
| Brief description | Child's mug, silver, England, no hallmarks, signed George John Cayley, probably 1860-1869 |
| Physical description | Mug, silver, cylindrical embossed with six ears of barley, upright on a matted ground; strap handle with a seventh ear. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Production type | Unique |
| Marks and inscriptions | Signed in cursive script on the underside of the base:
'George John Cayley' |
| Credit line | Bequest of Hugh Cayley |
| Object history | The mug is one of several pieces made by the traveller and writer George John Cayley (1826-1878) which his son Hugh (1861-1924) bequeathed to the Museum. Hugh was Cayley's first child, and his father may have made the mug as a gift for him. |
| Historical context | There is a photograph of George John Cayley, taken by Camille Silvy dated the 8th of January, 1862 in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG Ax56645). The photograph was taken in the photographer's studio at 38 Porchester Terrace, Bayswater. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | George John Cayley (1826-78), son of the MP Edward Stillingfleet Cayley, was an eccentric.. Besides dabbling in poetry and writing a light-hearted book on travels in Spain, he was a gifted artist (he illustrated some of his own books) and a craftsman known for his metalwork. In 1862 he and the painter George Frederick Watts worked together to design the challenge shield for a shooting championship at Wimbledon. In 1870 he went to live in Algiers to try and improve his health. There he played tennis as long as his health permitted — “longer, it might be said” according to recollections of him in a 1909 edition of his Spanish travel book. This was shortly before lawn tennis as we know it became established. During spells in England he worked with a carpenter and cabinet-maker, William Button Maslen from near Swansea, to develop new types of tennis racket. In January 1875 the Edinburgh Review, which is still in existence, published his article, 'Lusio Pilaris and Lawn Tennis', which was the first ever article on lawn tennis. |
| Bibliographic reference | Bean, T., 'Cayley, George John (1826–1878), traveller and writer'. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (entry composed 6 January, 2011).
Accessed 1 July 2023: https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-38903. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.567-1924 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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