Jug
- Place of origin:
- Date:
- Artist/Maker:
Elkington and Company (maker)
- Materials and Techniques:
Silver, parcel-gilt, raised and engraved; applied handle
- Museum number:
- Gallery location:
Silver, room 67, case 3, shelf 1
- Image unavailable
This jug is part of a set with two beakers (see Museum nos. M.45A-1972 and M.45B-1972) . It was made by the large and prestigious manufacturers Elkington & Co., who had a factory in Birmingham and a shop in London’s Regent Street.
By the 1870s, exotic cultures, particularly Japan, had seized the public imagination and Elkington & Co. was one of the first manufacturers to produce silver in the Japanese taste. A key figure was the botanist Christopher Dresser (1834–1904), the first industrial designer. In 1876 he visited Japan as a representative of the British government to study Japanese design, and published an account of his travels. The simplicity of Japanese applied arts was much admired. Here the impact is created by the engraved and matted ornament rather than the restrained forms of the vessels.
Physical description
Silver, parcel-gilt, the surface matted and engraved in the Japanese taste with prunus and other trees. At irregular intervals, shaped bamboo frames with gold borders enclose badges and other devices bordered with diaper patterns and with engraved foliage and blossom on which perch applied birds and butterflies in coloured golds.The stepped circular foot has engraved and applied bamboo ornament.
Place of Origin
Birmingham, England
Date
1882-1883 (made)
Artist/maker
Elkington and Company (maker)
Materials and Techniques
Silver, parcel-gilt, raised and engraved; applied handle
Marks and inscriptions
Around rim: maker FE for Frederick Elkington and on base inscribed: Elkington & Co 15892.
PRESENTED TO MISS KEEN on the occasion of her marriage BY THE COMBINED STAFF OF THE Patent Nut and Bolt Company Limited WITH THEIR EARNEST WISHES FOR HER HEALTH AND HAPPINESS, JUNE 26TH 1883
Birmingham hallmarks: duty, sterling, anchor, date letter for 1882.
Dimensions
Diameter: 10.5 cm, Height: 31 cm, Width: 12 cm
Object history note
Bought from the Handley-Read Collection
By the 1870s, exotic cultures, particularly Japan, had seized public imagination. A key figure was Christopher Dresser, who visited Japan in 1876 and published an account of his travels. The simplicity of Japanese applied arts was much admired. Elkingtons were one of the first manufacturers to produce silver in the Japanese taste. Here, the impact is created by the engraved and matted ornament, rather than the restrained forms of the vessels.
Descriptive line
Silver, parcel-gilt, Birmingham hallmarks for 1882-3, mark of Elkington and Co.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Eric Turner, An Introduction to English Silver from 1660, London, HMSO, 1985 p.33 ill. ISBN 0112904122
Exhibition History
Victorian and Edwardian Decorative Art. The Handley-Read Collection (Royal Academy of Arts 04/03/1972-30/04/1972)
Materials
Silver; Gold
Techniques
Gilding; Engraving (incising); Raising
Categories
Drinking; Metalwork
Collection code
MET
