A VICTORIAN ENAMEL AND GILT-COPPER CUP AND COVER

The oval plaque of the Science & Art Department were applied to electrotypes made by Elkington that were officially approved of by the South Kensington Museum (later the Victoria & Albert Museum). This cup and cover was made entirely for display and is inspired by medieval enamels and Renaissance chalices which the designer would have seen in the Museum’s collections. The Renaissance Revival was increasingly popular during the mid-19th century, not least as a result of the teaching in design schools, headed by that at South Kensington.

Other examples of the same design, but both executed in silver with blue enamels, sold at Christie’s South Kensington, London, 28-29 November 2006, lot 681 and Sotheby’s, New York, 22 April 2020, lot 258.