Description

A delightful early English antique silver mug or drinking cup. Simple tapering sides and scroll handle. To the front there is a contemporary intertwined monogram engraved within a decorative cartouche. Engraved to the handle there are two initials. Excellent condition and colour.

Weight 96 grams, 3.0 troy ounces.

Height 6.5 cms. Diameter of top 7 cms, base 5.5 cms.

London hallmarks for either 1661 or 1673.

Maker T.C (page 133 Jacksons. Probably Thomas Cooper – David Mitchell’s Silvermakers of Elizabethan and Stuart London.

Sterling silver.

Literature: Engravings – these are the correct style for the period. The tied branches, sometimes called plumage, are the main form of cartouche used at this date.

*It is unusual to have a maker’s name for a piece of silver of this early date as there are no precise records of silver makers’ marks prior to 1697. All records were destroyed in the fire at Goldsmiths Hall in 1681 when the Assay Office and apartments of the Assayer and Clerk in the south west wing of the building were burned down. From 1697 onwards Goldsmiths Hall has preserved a complete record of workmen’s marks, addresses, together with their names and the dates. Sometimes the details of makers can be discovered from old records such as the inventories of noble houses and other institutions.

The first surviving record, after the fire at Goldsmiths Hall, is the 1682 copper plate made to start the recording process again. This has recently prompted a study by Dr David Mitchell, supported by Goldsmiths Hall, resulting in the publication of his 2017 “Silversmiths in Elizabethan and Stuart London”. This reference work identifies previously unknown makers marks and assigns marks struck on existing plate to individuals (attributions for 540 separate marks).