A rare Bromsgrove Guild silver covered cup

Price range: Sold

For sale is this rare Bromsgrove Guild of Applied Arts silver covered cup.  It is fully hallmarked for BGAA, Birmingham, 1903.  The finial depicts an angel very much in the style of Walter Gilbert the founder of the Guild in 1898.

The construction of  the cup is highly unusual with the buttress supports slotted to the base. The cup itself is hand raised.  The angel finial is beautifully cast.

Bromsgrove Guild silver is extremely rare.  The Guild exhibited a silver casket, designed by Gilbert and made by Louis Weingartner, with some design similarities to this cup in the 1903 Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society (see other images).   The kneeling figure also has similarities to the sculptural figure the Guild similarly made by Gilbert and Weingartner for the lectern of Paisley Abbey, Scotland, also in 1903 (see other images, with thanks to Quintin Watt for his input).

This cup was probably also made by Weingartner who appears to have made most of the silver work at this times according to the 1903 Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society catalogue.

The Guild is most famed for its metalwork in iron and lead which includes Royal Commissions, including for the gates of Buckingham Palace.

The cup is in excellent condition.  It would originally have stood on a wooden plinth or base.

Maker: Bromsgrove Guild of Applied Arts

Designer: Walter Gilbert (attrib)

Date: 1903

Marks: BGAA, Birmingham, 1903. Part marks to lid.

Material: Sterling silver

Condition: Very good

Size: 28 cm tall

Weight : 13.1 oz, 370 grams