Tankard
1865 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
“The electrotypes are perfect; the finest lines, the most minute dots are as faithfully copied as the boldest objections” ---Art Journal, February 1844
Electrotypes are exact copies of metal objects. This new process was a by-product of the invention of electroplating (silver plating by electrolysis), which Elkington and Company patented in the 1840s.
As Penny Magazine wrote in 1844, the novelty of using electricity to create silver was difficult to understand 'in the sober light of industrial processes'. Early experiments, often by amateur scientists using Elkington’s home electroplating kits, involved coating fruit, flowers and animals in silver or gold 'with the most perfect accuracy'. They 'retained all the characteristics of the specimens before their immersion'. A lucrative market for recreating famous works of art in metal beckoned.
Henry Cole, the first director of the South Kensington Museum (V&A), quickly grasped the educational potential of this new technique. Elkington’s agreed to take moulds of historic objects in the Museum, create copies in a base metal and then electroplate them. These could be sold freely as reproductions, with a gold, silver or bronze finish, provided they bore the South Kensington Museum’s official stamp. To avoid breaking English hallmarking laws, all marks were to be deleted from copies of silver objects.
Elkington’s display of electrotypes at the 1867 Paris Exhibition proved extremely popular and prompted Cole to organise a Convention at which 14 European countries agreed to exchange works of art. Representatives of Elkington’s and the V&A sent staff to Germany, Sweden, France, Denmark and Hungary.
The most ambitious trip, to Moscow and St. Petersburg in 1880, secured copies of over 200 items from the Kremlin and the Hermitage, including the celebrated Jerningham Wine Cooler (Gallery 66) and Elizabethan and Stuart silver sent as ambassadorial gifts to the Tsars. By 1920 the V&A held over 1000 electrotypes. Copies toured the country as part of the museum’s educational programmes and were sold to the public and to museums and art schools.
The original tankard is English, 17th century and is not hallmarked. It bears the ciphers of William and Mary and is part of the Regalia in the Tower of London.
Electrotypes are exact copies of metal objects. This new process was a by-product of the invention of electroplating (silver plating by electrolysis), which Elkington and Company patented in the 1840s.
As Penny Magazine wrote in 1844, the novelty of using electricity to create silver was difficult to understand 'in the sober light of industrial processes'. Early experiments, often by amateur scientists using Elkington’s home electroplating kits, involved coating fruit, flowers and animals in silver or gold 'with the most perfect accuracy'. They 'retained all the characteristics of the specimens before their immersion'. A lucrative market for recreating famous works of art in metal beckoned.
Henry Cole, the first director of the South Kensington Museum (V&A), quickly grasped the educational potential of this new technique. Elkington’s agreed to take moulds of historic objects in the Museum, create copies in a base metal and then electroplate them. These could be sold freely as reproductions, with a gold, silver or bronze finish, provided they bore the South Kensington Museum’s official stamp. To avoid breaking English hallmarking laws, all marks were to be deleted from copies of silver objects.
Elkington’s display of electrotypes at the 1867 Paris Exhibition proved extremely popular and prompted Cole to organise a Convention at which 14 European countries agreed to exchange works of art. Representatives of Elkington’s and the V&A sent staff to Germany, Sweden, France, Denmark and Hungary.
The most ambitious trip, to Moscow and St. Petersburg in 1880, secured copies of over 200 items from the Kremlin and the Hermitage, including the celebrated Jerningham Wine Cooler (Gallery 66) and Elizabethan and Stuart silver sent as ambassadorial gifts to the Tsars. By 1920 the V&A held over 1000 electrotypes. Copies toured the country as part of the museum’s educational programmes and were sold to the public and to museums and art schools.
The original tankard is English, 17th century and is not hallmarked. It bears the ciphers of William and Mary and is part of the Regalia in the Tower of London.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Electrotype, with foliated scrollwork |
| Brief description | Electrotype flagon by Messrs Franchi and Son of Clerkenwell, 1865, a replica of an original of 1691-2 in the Royal Regalia at the Tower of London. Electrotype, copper gilt, with foliated scroll work, cherubs' heads, etc., in repousse or beaten work; in front a cartouche with cyphers of King William 111 and Queen Mary. The original of silver gilt, is a sacramental flagon, and forms part of the regalia in the Tower of London. H. 17 1/2 inches., diam. 9 inches Messrs Franchi and Son |
| Physical description | Original of silver-gilt, cartouche with ciphers of William III and Mary. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | This flagon was bought by the Museum in 1865 from Messrs Franchi and Son of Clerkenwell, London for £20.10.0. It is an exact copy of a silver-gilt flagon of 1691-2 which is part of the English Royal Regalia at the Tower of London. The original has a matching salver and both are used at the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula three times a year (on Christmas Day, Easter Sunday and Whit Sunday). An electrotype of the salver is also in the V&A's collection (Repro.1865-79) |
| Summary | “The electrotypes are perfect; the finest lines, the most minute dots are as faithfully copied as the boldest objections” ---Art Journal, February 1844 Electrotypes are exact copies of metal objects. This new process was a by-product of the invention of electroplating (silver plating by electrolysis), which Elkington and Company patented in the 1840s. As Penny Magazine wrote in 1844, the novelty of using electricity to create silver was difficult to understand 'in the sober light of industrial processes'. Early experiments, often by amateur scientists using Elkington’s home electroplating kits, involved coating fruit, flowers and animals in silver or gold 'with the most perfect accuracy'. They 'retained all the characteristics of the specimens before their immersion'. A lucrative market for recreating famous works of art in metal beckoned. Henry Cole, the first director of the South Kensington Museum (V&A), quickly grasped the educational potential of this new technique. Elkington’s agreed to take moulds of historic objects in the Museum, create copies in a base metal and then electroplate them. These could be sold freely as reproductions, with a gold, silver or bronze finish, provided they bore the South Kensington Museum’s official stamp. To avoid breaking English hallmarking laws, all marks were to be deleted from copies of silver objects. Elkington’s display of electrotypes at the 1867 Paris Exhibition proved extremely popular and prompted Cole to organise a Convention at which 14 European countries agreed to exchange works of art. Representatives of Elkington’s and the V&A sent staff to Germany, Sweden, France, Denmark and Hungary. The most ambitious trip, to Moscow and St. Petersburg in 1880, secured copies of over 200 items from the Kremlin and the Hermitage, including the celebrated Jerningham Wine Cooler (Gallery 66) and Elizabethan and Stuart silver sent as ambassadorial gifts to the Tsars. By 1920 the V&A held over 1000 electrotypes. Copies toured the country as part of the museum’s educational programmes and were sold to the public and to museums and art schools. The original tankard is English, 17th century and is not hallmarked. It bears the ciphers of William and Mary and is part of the Regalia in the Tower of London. |
| Associated object | REPRO.1865-79 (Ensemble) |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | REPRO.1865-78 |
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| Record created | March 3, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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