Cup
ca. 1650 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Ivory was a popular material during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and ivory vessels were frequently mounted in silver, as in this case. The slenderness of this vessel's stem and two holes in the base suggest that originally there would have been two figures, possibly also of carved ivory, supporting the cup.
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.
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
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Carved ivory with raised, cast, embossed, chased and flat-chased gilded silver (silver-gilt) |
| Brief description | Silver-gilt and ivory covered cup; Hans Jacob Erhart, Germany, ca. 1650. |
| Physical description | Silver-gilt and ivory cup and cover. The cup stands on a domed, oval base with a shaped border, embossed in the centre with grotesque winged auricular masks. The stem is formed as a tree trunk with vines around it. The lower part of the bowl is chased with vines; the ivory barrel above is carved with a frieze of nymphs, dolphins and putti. The cover is an ivory dome carved with sea monsters and surmounted by a conch-blowing putto on a dolphin, the ivory is mounted with a silver-gilt border flat-chased with scrolling foliage. |
| Dimensions |
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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: Purchased from J. Kugel, Paris, 1986. |
| Summary | Ivory was a popular material during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and ivory vessels were frequently mounted in silver, as in this case. The slenderness of this vessel's stem and two holes in the base suggest that originally there would have been two figures, possibly also of carved ivory, supporting the cup. 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. 146, pp. 540-42. ISBN.0875871445 |
| Other numbers |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.54:1,2-2008 |
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| Record created | June 26, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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