A Highly Important Royal Christening Cup in Silver Gilt

Collection / Decorative Objects / Silver

A Highly Important Royal Christening Cup in Silver Gilt

A Highly Important Royal Christening Cup in Silver Gilt

Dimensions: H: 14.5 in / 37 cm
Total weight approximately 71 troy oz. / 2,200 g

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DESCRIPTION PROVENANCE LITERATURE

A Highly Important Royal Christening Cup in Silver Gilt
by Thomas Heming, the Royal Goldsmith

Gifted by King George III in 1773

The leaf cast cover with a Royal Crown finial and laurel wreath rim, the urn being cast with Vitruvian scrolls and the Royal Crest, the Montagu coat of arms on the reverse, the handles with trailing bellflowers, on a lobed socle ending in a laurel garland circular foot and square base, inscribed on the interior rim of the cover 'This cup was given by His Majesty King George the 3rd (sic) to his godson The Hon. George Montagu Born ye 4th of Feb, Baptized ye 5th of March 1773.' The silver hallmarked for London 1771/2.
English, dated 1771/2

Provenance:
Gift of King George III to his godson, George John Montagu, 6th Earl of Sandwich, later Viscount Hinchingbrooke.

Thomas Heming (1722-1801)

Born in Ludlow, Shropshire, and apprenticed in 1738 to the Huguenot French silversmith, Pierre Archambo, entering his mark in 1745, and becoming a Freeman in 1746. After this date he executed works for George II, and was appointed Royal Goldsmith by George III on his accession to the throne in 1760, providing all the plate and regalia for the Coronation. This exalted post he held until his retirement in 1782/3 when the Royal Jewel House was abolished, after the Lord Chamberlain insisted on a closer perusal of the outgoings incurred by the Crown. Volume CXVII of the tract 'The Royal Goldsmiths and the Jewel House', published by the Archaeological Journal notes that Heming was the first goldsmith since the English Civil War to have a registered maker's mark of his own allied to the throne, exalting him to an artisan of a very superior kind, albeit one who was well aware of his worth. The Royal Collection of His Majesty King Charles III contains thirty five pieces of Heming's works, including three christening cups, one of which appears identical to ours. His works are to be found in major collections and museums, including the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Kunstindustrimuseum in Copenhagen possesses a thirty piece dressing service presented to Caroline Matilde, the sister of George III, on the occasion of her marriage to King Christian IV of Denmark.

George John Montagu (4 February 1773 - 21 May 1818)

Eldest son of John Montagu, the Fifth Earl of Sandwich, and Lady Mary Henrietta Powlett, he was styled Viscount Hinchingbrooke from 1790 until 1814.

Comparative Literature:
Roberts, Jane. George III & Queen Charlotte: Patronage, Collecting and Court Taste. London: Royal Collection, 2004, illustrating a second cup by Thomas Heming of the same design.

REF No. 10505

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