Cup
1738-1739 (hallmarked)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Paul de Lamerie's workshop was the first to use this design. It became highly sought-after and was soon copied by other London silversmiths. Benjamin Godfrey was closely associated with the Huguenot community of goldsmiths through marriage and may have been of Huguenot origin.
When King Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685, Huguenots (French Protestants) were forced to leave the country. Many were craftsmen who settled in London. Their technical skills and fashionable French style ensured the luxury silver, furniture, watches and jewellery they made were highly sought after. Huguenot specialists transformed English silver by introducing higher standards of craftsmanship. They promoted new forms, such as the soup tureen and sauceboat, and introduced a new repertoire of ornament, with cast sculptural details and exquisite engraving.
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.
When King Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685, Huguenots (French Protestants) were forced to leave the country. Many were craftsmen who settled in London. Their technical skills and fashionable French style ensured the luxury silver, furniture, watches and jewellery they made were highly sought after. Huguenot specialists transformed English silver by introducing higher standards of craftsmanship. They promoted new forms, such as the soup tureen and sauceboat, and introduced a new repertoire of ornament, with cast sculptural details and exquisite engraving.
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 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Silver-gilt, raised, cast, chased, engraved, punched, matted |
| Brief description | Silver-gilt cup and cover, Benjamin Godfrey, London, 1738-9 |
| Physical description | Silver-gilt two-handled cup and cover resting on a spreading foot which is cast and chased with bands of shells, scrolls and foliage on a punched matted ground. The lower part of the body has applied scroll-and-foliage motifs. The double scroll handles are cast and chased with scrolls and shells. The body of the cup is engraved with the coat of arms of Annesley quartering Chandos and another for Richard Altham who succeeded as 6th Earl of Anglesey in 1737. The cover is engraved with the Anglesey crest and is domed in two stages. Its applied cut card decoration matches that on the base of cup. The finial is of baluster, scroll, shell-and-foliage form. |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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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: Richard, 6th earl of Anglesey. Mrs. L. Vachell, sale, Sotheby's, lot 111, December 13, 1962. Sale, Sotheby's, lot 169, May 9, 1963. Sale, Sotheby's, lot121, November 28, 1963. Sale, Christie's, lot 169, September 24, 1985. Purchased from Partridge (Fine Arts) Ltd., London, 1985. |
| Production | Maker’s mark of Benjamin Godfrey under the base. The cover is unmarked. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Associations | |
| Summary | Paul de Lamerie's workshop was the first to use this design. It became highly sought-after and was soon copied by other London silversmiths. Benjamin Godfrey was closely associated with the Huguenot community of goldsmiths through marriage and may have been of Huguenot origin. When King Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685, Huguenots (French Protestants) were forced to leave the country. Many were craftsmen who settled in London. Their technical skills and fashionable French style ensured the luxury silver, furniture, watches and jewellery they made were highly sought after. Huguenot specialists transformed English silver by introducing higher standards of craftsmanship. They promoted new forms, such as the soup tureen and sauceboat, and introduced a new repertoire of ornament, with cast sculptural details and exquisite engraving. 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. 59, pp. 234-6. ISBN.0875871445 |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.648:1, 2-2008 |
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| Record created | June 26, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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