Lot Essay
CHOCOLATE CUPS
Usually found in porcelain, silver cups of this form are very rare indeed. The cover with its bracket finials could be inverted to form a saucer. A very similar gold example by Ralph Leake, circa 1685 is in the collection of Temple Newsam, having been accepted in lieu of tax, published in Re:source, The Council for Museum, Archives and Libraries, Annual Report, Acceptance in Lieu, 2000-2002, p, p. 35, no. 37. Leake also made a similar silver example which was sold from a private Swiss collection, Koller Auctions, Zurich, 16 June 2020, lot 1531. Unlike the present plain example the Leake mugs were both flat-chased in the chinoiserie style.