Lot Essay
In addition to the maker's mark of Robert Hennell, this bowl features an impressed hatch mark with arrow terminals within an octagonal shield. This mark is believed to signify silver supplied exclusively by Hennell, a manufacturer to the trade, to the prominent London firm of Hancocks & Co., which had built a reputation as one of the finest retailers of silver and jewelry. John Culme records the relationship between these two firms noting Hennell's role as supplier in The Directory of Gold and Silversmiths. In 1873, the same year in which the present lot was made, Hancocks & Co. had an extensive display at the Vienna exhibition, which the Illustrated London News described as "Perhaps the most interesting display as a whole [forming] an invariable point of attraction in the British section."
This bowl was likely made as a presentation piece, as such bowls featuring battle scenes, commonly taken from painted or printed sources and adapted by well-known designers and modellers, were popular themes for trophy cups.
This bowl was likely made as a presentation piece, as such bowls featuring battle scenes, commonly taken from painted or printed sources and adapted by well-known designers and modellers, were popular themes for trophy cups.