Dish thumbnail 1
Dish thumbnail 2
On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Dish

1847-1848 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
This dish is one of the few manufactured items designed for use in the home by A.W.N. Pugin. Pugin designed it in collaboration with the Birmingham manufacturer John Hardman & Co. Most of their designs were for church furnishings.

Design & Designing
A.W.N. Pugin may have seen dishes with similar ornament in Italy, which he visited in 1847, a year before this piece was made. The manufacturers' ledger entry, dated 18 April 1848, records: 'Large Silver Dish in Florentine Pattern, with enamels in Centre of Arms. Dish beaten in sections etc. £37.15s'. The design originally came from Germany. Brass dishes from centres such as Nuremberg were exported and copied all over Europe between 1475 and 1525.

People
In 1847, A.W.N. Pugin wished to marry Helen Lumsdaine, a vicar's daughter, who promised to convert to Roman Catholicism. Her family did not approve and Henry Benson, a friend and neighbour of A.W.N. Pugin, tried unsuccessfully to reconcile the bride's family to the marriage. He was given the dish as a token of A.W.N. Pugin's gratitude.

Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Parcel-gilt silver and enamel, engraved
Brief description
Dish, silver, parcel-gilt and enamel, Birmingham, 1847-8, mark of John Hardman and Company, designed by A.W.N. Pugin.
Physical description
Dish, silver, parcel-gilt and enamel. Circular; the print in the central depression enamelled in black, blue and green with thew arms and crest of Benson, bordered by spiralling ribbed convex lobes, gilt. Beyond, the inscription `+Henry Benson+Esquire+from his grateful friend A+W+Pugin+March XXVI+A+D+MDCCCXLVIII'. The edge of the depression filled with broad, concave lobes, also spiralling; the wide border engraved with a running pattern of trefoil-headed foliage. The mouldings at the edge and elsewhere, gilt.
Dimensions
  • Height: 3.8cm
  • Diameter: 41cm
Dimensions checked: Measured; 28/06/1999 by LH
Marks and inscriptions
Inscribed in the centre '+Henry Benson+Esquire+from his grateful friend A+W+Pugin+March XXVI+A+D+ MDCCCXLVIII'
Gallery label
(27/03/2003)
British Galleries:
The style of this dish imitates brass dishes first made in Germany in the 16th century which were also regularly traded with Italy. The designer, A.W.N. Pugin, would have known of these from his travels in Europe. The title suggests it may have been based on examples seen in Florence, Italy.
Credit line
Given in memory of Lavinia and Charles Handley-Read by Mr. Thomas Stainton.
Object history
Designed by A.W.N. Pugin (born in London, 1812, died in Ramsgate, Kent, 1852); made by John Hardman & Co., Birmingham.

The surviving day books of Pugin's manufactures document all his designs for the firm. The following entry, dated 18th April, 1848, in the day book for 1845-49 refers to this piece: `A large Silver Dish in Florentine pattern, with Enamels in Centre of Arms.' Dish beaten in sections etc. 37-15s. The dish is referred to by Shirley Bury in the Victoria and Albert Museum Yearbook, 1, 1969, pp.85-96.
Subjects depicted
Summary
Object Type
This dish is one of the few manufactured items designed for use in the home by A.W.N. Pugin. Pugin designed it in collaboration with the Birmingham manufacturer John Hardman & Co. Most of their designs were for church furnishings.

Design & Designing
A.W.N. Pugin may have seen dishes with similar ornament in Italy, which he visited in 1847, a year before this piece was made. The manufacturers' ledger entry, dated 18 April 1848, records: 'Large Silver Dish in Florentine Pattern, with enamels in Centre of Arms. Dish beaten in sections etc. £37.15s'. The design originally came from Germany. Brass dishes from centres such as Nuremberg were exported and copied all over Europe between 1475 and 1525.

People
In 1847, A.W.N. Pugin wished to marry Helen Lumsdaine, a vicar's daughter, who promised to convert to Roman Catholicism. Her family did not approve and Henry Benson, a friend and neighbour of A.W.N. Pugin, tried unsuccessfully to reconcile the bride's family to the marriage. He was given the dish as a token of A.W.N. Pugin's gratitude.
Collection
Accession number
M.23-1972

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
Record URL
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