Lot 360
Dundee - a Scottish provincial George II communion cup
Auction: 19 August 2013 at 15:00 BST
Description
Charles Dickson II, marked to rim CD (in script), pot of lilies, CD (in script), script C, the wide bowl of slight tapered form engraved in contemporary script over two lines 'Thomas Read de Auchinleck Mercator Deidonanus Poculum hoc Ecclesia, Taodunensi in Eucharistia usum Dono A. Ae. C MDCCXXIII', raised on an acorn knopped stem and stepped domed circular foot
Dimensions
Height 22cm, Diameter of bowl 12.3cm, 20oz
Footnote
Dundee's Steeple Kirk is one of the most historic and important early buildings within the city. Built in the 12th century by the Earl of Huntington, brother of Scottish King William the Lion, it has withstood the numerous onslaughts of Dundee's tumultuous history to become the city's most important church and its oldest surviving building. At various points in the Kirks' history parts of the building were destroyed and rebuilt; the English General Monk, under orders from Cromwell besieged the city in 1651, and the tower played an important role in the city's defences. Cannon marks can still be found on the building, a testament to its endurance, and the lock on the door leading from the hall to the stairs is the same that held firm against Cromwell's onslaught.
Even into the Victorian era problems beset the church and in 1841 another fire broke out, this time in the heating system, and once again the transepts were destroyed leaving only the nave and the tower. The Chapter House, adjoining the north wall of the east Church was also burnt down, along with the library of over 1800 volumes, including works in Latin and Greek, many dating from pre-reformation clergy. The east and south transepts were rebuilt in 1844 for their respective congregations, the north transept's congregation was re-housed. These three congregations remained in the one church until the 1980s when they finally amalgamated, giving the Kirk and its congregation its present day appearance.