Gorge Mug
1683-1684 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This mug is a very rare example of a silver vessel copying a ceramic form. This particular form (known as the gorge form), with globular body and cylindrical neck was ultimately derived from the design of larger 16th century German stoneware ale mugs. In the late 17th century, a smaller version was copied in a number of materials including silver, glass, western stonewares and oriental porcelain. The decoration on the neck of this silver mug copies the wheel turned decoration on the ceramic examples. With this acquisition the V&A becomes the only museum in Britain where the widest range of materials copying the ceramic version can be seen.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Silver |
Brief description | Silver gorge mug, London hallmarks for 1683-4, mark of George Garthorne. |
Physical description | Silver gorge mug with spherical body opening to cylindrical reeded neck with silver wire handle in form of S-scroll, decorated with flatchased chinoiserie design of two warriors standing within exotic flowers and leaves. |
Dimensions |
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Marks and inscriptions |
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Credit line | Accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the Victoria and Albert Museum, 2005 |
Historical context | This mug is a very rare example of a silver vessel copying a ceramic form. This particular form (known as a gorge form), with globular body and cylindrical neck was ultimately derived from the design of larger 16th century German stoneware ale mugs. In the late 17th century, a smaller version was copied in a number of materials including silver, glass, western stonewares and oriental porcelain. The decoration on the neck of this silver mug copies the wheel turned decoration on the ceramic examples. With this acquisition the V&A becomes the only Museum in Britain where the widest range of materials copying the ceramic version can be seen. The silver mug is on show in the Designs case in gallery 68 with a ceramic prototype |
Summary | This mug is a very rare example of a silver vessel copying a ceramic form. This particular form (known as the gorge form), with globular body and cylindrical neck was ultimately derived from the design of larger 16th century German stoneware ale mugs. In the late 17th century, a smaller version was copied in a number of materials including silver, glass, western stonewares and oriental porcelain. The decoration on the neck of this silver mug copies the wheel turned decoration on the ceramic examples. With this acquisition the V&A becomes the only museum in Britain where the widest range of materials copying the ceramic version can be seen. |
Bibliographic reference | Robin Hildyard, Gorges across the Centuries Antique Collecting , Sept. 1999, p.10-15 |
Collection | |
Accession number | M.28-2005 |
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Record created | February 9, 2004 |
Record URL |
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