Beaker
1760 (made)
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This set was presented to Count Petr Borisovitch Sheremetev (1713-87), then the second wealthiest man in Russia and childhood friend of Tsar Peter III (r. 1762). The engraving, combined with other archival records, has allowed historians to suggest that this beaker was most likely made to mark Sheremetev's appointment to the highest rank of Adjutant-General of the Russian Army in 1760.
Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Russian crown made a concerted effort to develop a European court culture. One of the ways they sought to achieve this was by inviting foreign artisans, such as Johan Henrik Hopper who made this set, to settle in Russia. Made of gold, which was then worth about twenty times the value of silver, and created by a European silversmith in European style, the beaker would have represented the utmost desirability at the Russian court.
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.
Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Russian crown made a concerted effort to develop a European court culture. One of the ways they sought to achieve this was by inviting foreign artisans, such as Johan Henrik Hopper who made this set, to settle in Russia. Made of gold, which was then worth about twenty times the value of silver, and created by a European silversmith in European style, the beaker would have represented the utmost desirability at the Russian court.
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.
Object details
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| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 3 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Gold, raised, cast, chased, engraved, pierced |
| Brief description | Gold covered beaker with stand, Johann Henrik Hopper, St. Petersburg, 1760. |
| Physical description | The gold, bell shaped beaker stands on a broad, waisted spreading foot which is chased with a band of shell motifs. Around the lower and upper parts of the body are also two bands of shell-and-scroll decoration; the beaker has a slightly spreading molded lip. The domed cover is chased with a shell-and-scroll band and has a ball finial chased with shells and scrolls.The shaped circular stand rests on three pierced shell bracket feet with a band of shell, scroll and floral ornament around the border. The beaker and the stand are engraved with the arms of Count Petr Borisovitvh Sheremetev (1713-1787). |
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| Credit line | The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
| Object history | Provenance: Falk Simons collection, Sweden. Sale, Christie's, Geneva, lot 102, June 26, 1974. Sale, Christie's, Geneva, lot 70a, May 8, 1979. Acquired by Arthur Gilbert from S.J. Phillips Ltd, London, 1983. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This set was presented to Count Petr Borisovitch Sheremetev (1713-87), then the second wealthiest man in Russia and childhood friend of Tsar Peter III (r. 1762). The engraving, combined with other archival records, has allowed historians to suggest that this beaker was most likely made to mark Sheremetev's appointment to the highest rank of Adjutant-General of the Russian Army in 1760. Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Russian crown made a concerted effort to develop a European court culture. One of the ways they sought to achieve this was by inviting foreign artisans, such as Johan Henrik Hopper who made this set, to settle in Russia. Made of gold, which was then worth about twenty times the value of silver, and created by a European silversmith in European style, the beaker would have represented the utmost desirability at the Russian court. 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. |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.26, 27-2008 |
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| Record created | June 26, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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