Cup
1806-1807 (hallmarked)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The partnership of Digby Scott and Benjamin Smith II (1802-07) produced luxurious, neoclassical presentation plate exclusively for the 19th century royal goldsmiths Rundell, Bridge and Rundell. Only a handful of gold objects supplied by this firm survives today.
The 18th century saw an emerging class of rich citizens who used their acquired wealth to indulge a passion for beautiful objects. The Renaissance tradition of the treasury or Schatzkammer, a special room for displaying exotic artefacts, continued in the 18th and 19th centuries. Other types of display included presentation plate, often of solid gold, which in the 18th century was worth about twenty times the value of silver.
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.
The 18th century saw an emerging class of rich citizens who used their acquired wealth to indulge a passion for beautiful objects. The Renaissance tradition of the treasury or Schatzkammer, a special room for displaying exotic artefacts, continued in the 18th and 19th centuries. Other types of display included presentation plate, often of solid gold, which in the 18th century was worth about twenty times the value of silver.
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
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 3 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Gold, raised, cast, embossed, chased, engraved, punched, matted |
| Brief description | Gold cup and cover, Digby Scot and Benjamin Smith, London hallmarks for 1806-7. |
| Physical description | Gold two-handled cup and cover. The cup stands on a spreading foot chased around the border with acanthus foliage. The lower part of the body and the lip are chased with foliage on a punched matted ground. The main part of the body is embossed on one side with a cartouche of military trophies enclosing an engraved inscription and on the other side with the arms of Sir Robert Wigram, Baronet (1744-1830). The cover is of waisted form, chased with scrolls, vines and grapes. The finial is formed as a bud above a band of gadroons. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label | 4. Two-handled cup and cover
1806-07
Only a handful of gold objects made by the partnership of Digby Scott and Benjamin Smith II survives today. Between 1802-1807, they produced luxurious, neoclassical presentation plate exclusively for the 19th-century royal goldsmiths Rundell, Bridge and Rundell.
London, England; Digby Scott (1775-1833) and Benjamin Smith II (1764-1823, designer, goldsmith)
Gold
Museum no. Loan:Gilbert.5-2008(17/03/2021) |
| Credit line | The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
| Object history | Provenance: Sir Robert Wigram, Bart. By descent to Sir F. W. Fitzwygram, Bart., sale, Christie's, lot 213, March 27, 1985. |
| Summary | The partnership of Digby Scott and Benjamin Smith II (1802-07) produced luxurious, neoclassical presentation plate exclusively for the 19th century royal goldsmiths Rundell, Bridge and Rundell. Only a handful of gold objects supplied by this firm survives today. The 18th century saw an emerging class of rich citizens who used their acquired wealth to indulge a passion for beautiful objects. The Renaissance tradition of the treasury or Schatzkammer, a special room for displaying exotic artefacts, continued in the 18th and 19th centuries. Other types of display included presentation plate, often of solid gold, which in the 18th century was worth about twenty times the value of silver. 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. |
| Bibliographic reference | Schroder, Timothy. The Gilbert collection of gold and silver, Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1988, cat. no. 92, pp. 346-9. ISBN.0875871445 |
| Other number | SG 189 - Arthur Gilbert Number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.5:1 to 3-2008 |
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| Record created | June 26, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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