£24,000
Decorative Arts: Design since 1860 | 488
Auction: 26 April 2017 at 11:00 BST
with planished surface, the tapered cover with floral and foliate openwork decoration, set with green chrysoprase cabochons, the tapered bowl raised on turned column with corresponding floral and foliate openwork decoration, set with green chrysoprase cabochons above a spreading base, stamped makers marks to cup, cover and under base, GofHLtd and hallmarked London 1901, 502g
Literature: Crawford, Alan 'C.R. Ashbee', Yale University Press 1985, pp.318-321.
Note: During the early 1890s, the Guild of Handicrafts started using silver for the first time. The focus at first was decorative sports trophies and cups, followed by more functional objects in the latter half of the decade as the Guild shifted its attention to silver tableware. Ashbee continued to make cups with covers, some of which were used as prizes or trophies for sport in the late 1890s and early 1900s. These he produced partly because of his interest in watching competitive sports, and also because of his passion for craftsmanship and his disdain for mass-produced trophies that he believed to be an insult to both art and athletics. The cup and cover offered here, hallmarked in London for the year 1901-1902, demonstrates this admiration for hand-crafted metalwork. The textured surface of the silver is intentionally left unsmooth or planished to show the human interaction and imprint of the craft. It is a typical example of Ashbee's work in silver, not only with regard to its finish but also due to the floral and foliate openwork decoration, set with green chrysoprase cabochons, which also feature in his jewellery and metalwork from the early 1890s. The form is inspired by German and Dutch standing cups of the 1600s, of which there was a fine collection at the South Kensington Museum in London, where Ashbee was a regular visitor.