Two-handled covered cup

Date1655-1656

MediumSilver (Sterling)

DimensionsOH: 7 1/4"; H (rim): 6 3/16"; OW: 9 1/8"; Diam (cover): 5 13/16"; Diam (rim): 5 1/16"; Diam (base): 7 3/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1938-31,A&B

DescriptionTwo-handled covered cup; cast finial of flattened-ball form surmounting flat-topped cover with a short rise above abroad projecting flange and a short bezel on underside fitting within rim of body; top of cover flat-chased with two circular bands of matting and incised line near edge of flange forming molding; broad straight-sided cylindrical body with applied multiple molding at rim, broad matted band around center with later engraved coat of arms, and applied multiple molding above broad concave skirted base with incised line near edge forming molding; opposed cast S-scroll handles with upper ends voluted and lower ends terminating in serpent's heads; face of handles embellished with female demi-figures and scrolled leafage.

Provenance: Christie, Manson & Woods, London (1905; purchased by S.J. Phillips, London); Sir Samuel Montagu (Lord Swaythling)(sold at Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 1924; purchased by Crichton Bros., London); William Randolph Hearst (sold by Parish-Watson & Co., New York, 1938)

Published: Christie's, London (June 28, 1905), lot 93; Percy Macquoid, The Plate Collector's Guide (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1908), p. 97, fig. 41; E. Alfred Jones, The Old Plate of Cambridge Colleges (Cam\bridge, England: University Press, 1910), p. xix; "The Swaythling Collection of Silver Plate," Country Life 55 (April 5, 1924): 527-528, fig. 4; Christie's, London (May 5-6, 1924), lot 88, ill.; Edward Wenham, The Domestic Silver of Great Britain and Ireland (London: Oxford University Press, 1931), p. 171, Pl. VII; ________, "Evolution of the Trophy Cup," Antique Collector 25 (June 1954): 116, fig. 1; Charles Oman, Caroline Silver, 1625-1688 (London: Faber and Faber Ltd., 1970), p. 41, Pl. 13A; John D. Davis, English Silver at Williamsburg (Williamsburg, Virginia: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1976), pp. 56-58, no. 45, ill.; John A. Hyman, Silver at Williamsburg: Drinking Vessels (Williamsburg, Virginia: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1994), pp. 2-3, no. 2, ill.
Label TextThis important cup of imposing size and stance is closely associated in form with the principal type of contemporary tankard. Both share a flat-topped straight-sided cylindrical body supported on a broad, skirted base. Such a close correspondence between cup and tankard design is rare, for these forms followed for the most part independent courses of development with only general stylistic similarities.

Three other cups of this type are known. All are by the same maker as the Williamsburg example. One of virtually identical design and size of 1657/58 is at Peterhouse College, Cambridge. It has the same bold cast caryatid handles terminating in birds' heads, but its body is flat-chased with scrolled and foliate decoration. The other two have straight-sided bodies and similar covers, plain handles of scrolled outline, but no base or base moldings. They may represent a preliminary type for the later and more developed Williamsburg and Peterhouse College examples. One of 1651/52 is part of the Rothermere silver at the Middle Temple. Its body, like that of the Williamsburg example, is decorated with a broad band of matting. The body of the other example of 1653/54, formerly in the collection of Philip Argenti, is flat-chased with an encircling arcade enclosing floral decoration.
InscribedUnidentified arms engraved on face of body about 1710
MarkingsMaker's mark "AF" in block letters within a shaped shield, leopard's head crowned, lion passant, and date letter both on face of body below rim and on top of cover.
ProvenanceChristie, Manson & Weeks, London, 1905 (purchased by S. J. Phillips, London)
Sir Samuel Montagu (Lord Swaythling )
Sold at Christie, Manson & Weeks, London, 1924, purchased by Crichton Bros., London.
William Randolph Hearst (sold by Parish Watson & Co, New York 1938)
CWF purchased from Parish Watson, 1938.