Jug, silver-gilt, London hallamrks for 1873-4, mark of Samuel Smily, retailed by the Goldsmiths' Alliance Ltd.

Vase shaped body annulated by two mouldings, between them a winged disc and serpents of Ra, the sun god. The spout runs into the curving handle, hinged cover, disc finial.

Formerly in the collection of Charles and Lavinia Handley-Read.

The design may have been taken from illustrations of Egyptian antiquities in the Art Union Journal of 1847. Publications like Vivant Denon's Voyages dans la basse et haute Egypte (1802) stimulated an appetite for Egyptian-inspired design which lasted through the century. Egyptian antiquities were illustrated in many periodicals, and it is probable that Smily based his design on one of these. The jug is decorated with the disc and serpents of the sun god, Ra.
The maker's mark on this jug was formerly identified as that of Stephen Smith. However, the documentation that survives concerning late-nineteenth-century London goldsmiths' firms makes it clear that Smith was not associated with The Goldsmiths' Alliance Ltd., manufacturers of this piece. Instead, the firm of Smith, Nicholson & Co. (who succeeded Benjamin Smith, father and son) became Stephen Smith & Son, and were ultimately purchased by Mappin & Webb in 1886. The Goldsmiths' Alliance, on the other hand, was a different and separate concern which had its origins in A.B. Savory & Sons. In 1866, A. B. Savory & Sons became a limited liability company and styled themselves the Goldsmiths' Alliance Ltd. In 1893, the Alliance was absorbed by the Goldsmiths' & Silversmiths' Co. Ltd, and ceased to exist.
We are extremely grateful to John Culme for sharing his research on these companies and makers in order to correct our original record.

Goldsmiths Alliance Ltd was established as a limited liability company in 1866, from the goldsmiths A.B. Savory and Sons. In 1893 the Goldsmiths' Alliance Ltd was absorbed by the Goldsmiths' & Silversmiths' Co. Ltd.

The jug is decorated with the disc and serpents of the sun god, Ra, from Egyptian mythology. Egyptian antiquities were illustrated in many periodicals, and it is probable that the maker, Samuel Smily, based his design on one of these. Publications like Vivant Denon's Voyages dans la basse et haute Egypte (1802) stimulated an appetite for Egyptian-inspired design which lasted through the century.

M.36-1972