.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
THE CUP
The present standing cup is nearly identical to the Hutton Cup in the Royal Collection, located at Windsor Castle. Dating to 1589, The Hutton Cup is believed to have been made for presentation by Queen Elizabeth I, and in 1957, was purchased by her namesake Queen Elizabeth II. The analogous decoration and silhouettes of the two cups suggest that the Zilkha Cup and Hutton Cup likely once formed a pair with the Zilkha Cup later made to match. This presumption is strengthened by the fact that when the Zilkha cup was offered at Christie’s London in 1977, it was sold with a cover dated 1589 (maker’s mark an eagle). It is possible that the Zilkha cup was made to replace an earlier cup that had been lost or damaged.
ST. JOHN’S CHURCH, GRAVESEND
Although we do not know the identity of the early owners of the cup, it is likely that it reached St. John’s Church, Gravesend around 1859. An associated foot rim dated 1859 was removed shortly after the cup was sold in 1977. The sale catalogue notes and illustrates the cup’s cover with a later cross finial, suggesting that the cup and cover had been refitted as a ciborium, presumably when the later foot rim was added.
St. John’s was founded in 1834 as an Anglican church, but was acquired and converted to a Roman Catholic church in 1851. Although a record of a gift of a ciborium has yet to be found, it is highly likely that they cup (ciborium) was donated by local solicitor and eight-term mayor, George Arnold (1826-1908), who was received into the Catholic Church by Cardinal Manning in 1858, and was extremely active at St. John’s Church the rest of his life. The correlation of the date of Arnold’s conversion and the date of the later foot rim suggest that the Zilkha cup may very well have been a gift to St. John’s upon Arnold’s joining the parish. Arnold was a collector of antiquities of local interest and established a museum for their display. He was also responsible for the restoration of St. Mary’s Church at Denton, Dode Church at Luddesdown and the Kings Head Public House in King Street.
ANTHONY BENNETT
Maker’s mark AB conjoined has been attributed with some certainty to Anthony Bennett by David Mitchell in his catalogue Silversmiths in Elizabethan and Stuart London (London, 2017). As the majority of the fifteen works listed by Mitchell with this mark are standing cups, wine cups and steeple cups, it suggests that Bennett may have specialized in this form. Bennett apprenticed to Robert Wyke and Richard Maddox before becoming free in 1594. A 1605 wine cup by Bennett was sold Bonham’s, London, 12 July 2023, lot 70. A 1606 steeple cup with associated Victorian cover was sold Dreweatts, Newbury, 8 March 2022, lot 28.
The present standing cup is nearly identical to the Hutton Cup in the Royal Collection, located at Windsor Castle. Dating to 1589, The Hutton Cup is believed to have been made for presentation by Queen Elizabeth I, and in 1957, was purchased by her namesake Queen Elizabeth II. The analogous decoration and silhouettes of the two cups suggest that the Zilkha Cup and Hutton Cup likely once formed a pair with the Zilkha Cup later made to match. This presumption is strengthened by the fact that when the Zilkha cup was offered at Christie’s London in 1977, it was sold with a cover dated 1589 (maker’s mark an eagle). It is possible that the Zilkha cup was made to replace an earlier cup that had been lost or damaged.
ST. JOHN’S CHURCH, GRAVESEND
Although we do not know the identity of the early owners of the cup, it is likely that it reached St. John’s Church, Gravesend around 1859. An associated foot rim dated 1859 was removed shortly after the cup was sold in 1977. The sale catalogue notes and illustrates the cup’s cover with a later cross finial, suggesting that the cup and cover had been refitted as a ciborium, presumably when the later foot rim was added.
St. John’s was founded in 1834 as an Anglican church, but was acquired and converted to a Roman Catholic church in 1851. Although a record of a gift of a ciborium has yet to be found, it is highly likely that they cup (ciborium) was donated by local solicitor and eight-term mayor, George Arnold (1826-1908), who was received into the Catholic Church by Cardinal Manning in 1858, and was extremely active at St. John’s Church the rest of his life. The correlation of the date of Arnold’s conversion and the date of the later foot rim suggest that the Zilkha cup may very well have been a gift to St. John’s upon Arnold’s joining the parish. Arnold was a collector of antiquities of local interest and established a museum for their display. He was also responsible for the restoration of St. Mary’s Church at Denton, Dode Church at Luddesdown and the Kings Head Public House in King Street.
ANTHONY BENNETT
Maker’s mark AB conjoined has been attributed with some certainty to Anthony Bennett by David Mitchell in his catalogue Silversmiths in Elizabethan and Stuart London (London, 2017). As the majority of the fifteen works listed by Mitchell with this mark are standing cups, wine cups and steeple cups, it suggests that Bennett may have specialized in this form. Bennett apprenticed to Robert Wyke and Richard Maddox before becoming free in 1594. A 1605 wine cup by Bennett was sold Bonham’s, London, 12 July 2023, lot 70. A 1606 steeple cup with associated Victorian cover was sold Dreweatts, Newbury, 8 March 2022, lot 28.