A CONTINENTAL SILVER-GILT CUP AND COVER

The Rodney Cup was first exhibited in 1861 when the dowager Lady Rodney's brother the M.P. and antiquarian Octavius Morgan (1803-1888) presented it at a meeting of the Society of Antiquaries. It was recorded that '...this curious cup had been for many centuries in the possession of the Rodney family; but how, when or by whom it was first acquired is not known'. The Rodney family has been settled at Stoke Gifford from the 14th century and it was suggested that the cup had belonged to Sir John Rodney Kt. of Rodney Stoke, who had been born in 1451. The cup was sold by the 7th Baron Rodney, (1857-1909) in 1894 for the large sum of £525 to Samuel Montagu, later created a baronet in the same year and Baron Swaythling in 1907. He formed an exceptionally fine and wide-ranging silver collection, much of which was sold at Christie's following his death. The cup was included in the 1924 Swaythling Heirlooms sale, but failed to find a buyer with the reserve set at £8,000. Crichtons Brothers are recorded as having bid to £7,500. It was later reoffered for sale in 1974 when it was described as German, circa 1480, however, spectrographic analysis before the sale revealed very low levels of gold, lead and bismuth in the alloy, atypical of 15th century silver, suggesting the piece was of early 19th century manufacture and it was withdrawn from sale.