An exceptionally rare pair of silver gilt Gothic revival Wine Goblets made in London in 1866 by George Fox.
An exceptionally rare pair of silver gilt Gothic revival Wine Goblets made in London in 1866 by George Fox.
375097
These extremely rare Wine Goblets are unusually modelled as medieval chalices and stand on a circular foot. The baluster foot is decorated with lobed bands and lion head masks, interspersed with bead garlands and raying stylised flower heads. The bowl above is also circular in form with slightly tapering sides. The front is engraved, to an exceptional standard, and depicts a shield shaped Armorial, with Crest above, all surrounded by a navette shaped frame. The reverse of one goblet is engraved with "Ye Ladye of Walton her cuppe" and the other "Ye Lorde of Walton hys cuppe". Both are in excellent condition and are very well marked.
The Arms and Crest are those of Waterton of Walton, County Yorkshire impaling Ennis, for Edmund Waterton and his wife Josephine. He was squire and Lord of the Manor of Walton. Edmund (1830-1887) was a British antiquary, which would account for the unusual design of these goblets. He succeeded his father, Charles, to Walton Hall in 1865 which was the first nature reserve in the World. The Waterton's had owned this estate since about 1475. Edmund was a lifelong Catholic, as were all of his ancestors, and he became Knight of the Supreme Order of Christ, Knight of Malta, Papal Privy Chamberlain and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He married Josephine Ennis in 1862, daughter of an Irish MP. After being widowed, he married Ellen Mercer in 1881. His collection of rings is now partly in the V & A and his collection of books in the Britsih Library. An early photograph of Edmund Waterton is shown. Walton Hall was built in 1767, in the Palladian style, on the site of a former moated medieval hall on an island in a 26 acre lake. It was the home of Charles Waterton, Edmund's father, the naturalist and traveller who made Walton Hall into the World's first wildfowl and nature reserve. He was a notable eccentric who would often dress as a scarecrow and sit in the trees, as well as dressing as his own butler to fool his guests.
Work by the Fox family is usually of exceptional quality and they are thought of as a very fine silversmithing family who maintained quality in production and design when Victorian mass production was the order of the day. These were probably a special commission because of their highly unusual nature.
Height: 6.5 inches.
Diameter at the rim: 3.5 inches.
Weight: 15oz, the pair.
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![](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://seekunique.co/customer_websites/marycooke/british-silver-1760-1830/an-exceptionally-rare-pair-of-silver-gilt-gothic-revival-wine-goblets-made-in-london-in-1866-by-george-fox&media=https://seek-unique-co.s3.amazonaws.com/marycooke-8876-Qfhef-OE67/stock/65fdb0a29d833_image_url_tr64.jpg&description=These extremely rare Wine Goblets are unusually modelled as medieval chalices and stand on a circular foot. The baluster foot is decorated with lobed bands and lion head masks, interspersed with bead garlands and raying stylised flower heads. The bowl above is also circular in form with slightly tapering sides. The front is engraved, to an exceptional standard, and depicts a shield shaped Armorial, with Crest above, all surrounded by a navette shaped frame. The reverse of one goblet is engraved with "Ye Ladye of Walton her cuppe" and the other "Ye Lorde of Walton hys cuppe". Both are in excellent condition and are very well marked.The Arms and Crest are those of Waterton of Walton, County Yorkshire impaling Ennis, for Edmund Waterton and his wife Josephine. He was squire and Lord of the Manor of Walton. Edmund (1830-1887) was a British antiquary, which would account for the unusual design of these goblets. He succeeded his father, Charles, to Walton Hall in 1865 which was the first nature reserve in the World. The Waterton's had owned this estate since about 1475. Edmund was a lifelong Catholic, as were all of his ancestors, and he became Knight of the Supreme Order of Christ, Knight of Malta, Papal Privy Chamberlain and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He married Josephine Ennis in 1862, daughter of an Irish MP. After being widowed, he married Ellen Mercer in 1881. His collection of rings is now partly in the V & A and his collection of books in the Britsih Library. An early photograph of Edmund Waterton is shown. Walton Hall was built in 1767, in the Palladian style, on the site of a former moated medieval hall on an island in a 26 acre lake. It was the home of Charles Waterton, Edmund's father, the naturalist and traveller who made Walton Hall into the World's first wildfowl and nature reserve. He was a notable eccentric who would often dress as a scarecrow and sit in the trees, as well as dressing as his own butler to fool his guests.Work by the Fox family is usually of exceptional quality and they are thought of as a very fine silversmithing family who maintained quality in production and design when Victorian mass production was the order of the day. These were probably a special commission because of their highly unusual nature.Height: 6.5 inches.Diameter at the rim: 3.5 inches.Weight: 15oz, the pair.){kind=link}