Beschreibung:

WILLIAM BURGES (1827-1881), A RARE SILVER AND ENAMELLED PEDESTAL CUP FOR BARKENTIN, LONDON 1877 The rim engraved 'To H Curzon Esq., in recognition of his services to The Arts Club 1878', the centre of the bowl champlevé enamelled with a mythical creature and HC, the circular pedestal foot champlevé enamelled with mythical creatures 9cm (3 1/2in) high 286g (9.2 oz) Provenance: Henry Curzon Esq. (1939-1891) Purchased by A.Tilbrook from Woolley and Wallis from whom purchased by Robert Kime Literature:G.A.F. Rogers, The Arts Club and its Members, London, 1920.J. Mordaunt Crook, William Burges and the high Victorian dream, London, revised edition 1981.ed. J. Mordaunt Crook, The Strange genius of William Burges 'art-architect', 1827-1881: a catalogue to a centenary exhibition organised jointly by the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Cardiff, 1981. Judy Rudoe, Decorative Arts 1850-1950, A Catalogue of the British Museum Collection, 1994 This rare silver and enamel pedestal cup is one of five silver 'mazer bowls' designed by William Burges (1827-81) for his friends at The Arts Club. They were made by the silversmith Barkentin & Krall, London, renowned for their richly decorated metalwork that revived 'lost' techniques as well as ornamentation associated with medieval objects and are probably those listed against 8 February 1878 in Burges' Estimate Book for 12 August 1875 to 30 March 1881 (Mordaunt Crook, pp. 316; 412, f/n 25). Detailed drawings of the cups, including the French Gothic enamel motifs that encircle the stems, form part of Burges' album of designs entitled Orfevrerie domestique held in the Royal Institute of British Architects (15-16; RIBA 12863). Another 'mazer bowl' of near-identical design, was made in maple wood with silver and enamelled mounts for Burges himself (now in the British Museum 1981,0603.1). Each cup has an individual enamel boss inside the cup with a monogram together with an engraving around the rim denoting who the cup was made for. The cup offered here was for Henry Curzon (1839-91), an architect with offices in Lincoln Inn Fields, and a member of The Arts Club from 1865-94 (Rogers, p. 68). The other silver cups were for: Alex Rivington, A.C. Bell, B. Frere and R.W. Edis, who were either fellows of the Institute of British Architects or the Society of Arts (op. Cit., p. 412, f/n 25). The silver cup for Alex Rivington sold Sotheby's, New York, 4 June 1998, lot 126, and the one for A.O. Bell sold JS Fine Art, Banbury, 24 October 2015, lot 32 (for £27,500). Some of the enamel decoration was common to both the set of five cups and Burges own cup: the narrow band of black squares is annotated in Burges' design, 'this goes round all the cups'; a butterfly and diaper pattern between each quatrefoil is marked 'this is common to all' (RIBA 12863). An entry in Burges' Estimate Book notes the higher cost of the silver cups to those made of maple wood 'if silver bowls instead of maple £12. 10s.'. Maple cups cost £10. 10s. However, the entry for the silver bowls was later annotated on 1 March 1878: '5 cups complete in silver for £50' (Victoria and Albert Museum, Ms. 86.88.52).