(click on photos to enlarge images)
A VICTORIAN SUGAR BOWL OF EXCEPTIONAL QUALITY
This bowl (probably a sugar bowl) has been manufactured in
London in 1851 by the well known royal silversmith Robert
Garrard.
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Hallmarks are struck in line on the body of the bowl,
just below the rim and include:
a crowned RG (maker mark of the Royal Silversmith Robert
Garrard);
the lion passant (sterling standards 925 ppt for the
British silver);
leopard head (mark of the London Assay Office);
date letter Q in capital old English font for the year
1851/1852);
sovereign head of a young Queen Victoria (duty mark to
prove the payment to the crown of the duty on silver
imposed in 1784 and repealed in 1890).
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bowl, London 1851, Robert Garrard
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The bowl has its original internal gilding and is of
extraordinary thickness.
It was crafted in the floral style, very popular in the
Victoria period (mainly between 1820 and 1850), with an
interpretation mainly involving the shape of the bowl (see
the rim and the handles) and not only the applied
decoration.
This was done only by a few number of very skilled and
famous silversmith working in the Victorian period (e.g.
Barnard and Fox families).
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gilded interior with floral work
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floral style rim
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rubbed coat of arms
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floral style handle
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The applied floral decoration was
obtained by the embossing technique, with some chased parts and
the background finished by a granular motif.
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cast base (upside down view)
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It is likely that a piece of such high level and quality was
accompanying an extraordinary coffee and/or tea set, executed
under commission for the London 'Great Exhibition' in 1851.
Unfortunately the original coat of arms engraved on the bowl is
now almost completely erased by the polishing that the piece was
submitted in the time.
Dimension: high: 13 cm, wide (max): 20 cm; weight 530 g..
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ASSOCIATION OF SMALL COLLECTORS OF ANTIQUE SILVER
versione
italiana
