A stemmed cup with a very wide base.
overall Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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overall Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

A highly polished silver cup with gold details. It has a very wide petaled base decorated with some light engravings and gold-colored areas. The stem features a down-turned lip, and a gold-colored bulbous rounded middle section which is decorated with carved triangles coming from above like the rays of the sun, and two carved cherubs on either side. The cup itself is a simple, flared cylinder with a gold-colored rim.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1999.306.9
People
Maker's mark RB, pellet below, in shield-shaped punch, British
Title
Recusant Chalice
Classification
Vessels
Work Type
vessel
Date
c. 1640
Places
Creation Place: Europe, United Kingdom, England
Culture
British
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/149490

Location

Location
Level 2, Room 2340, European and American Art, 17th–19th century, The Silver Cabinet: Art and Ritual, 1600–1850
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Silver, parcel-gilt
Technique
Engraved
Dimensions
18.7 x 12 cm (7 3/8 x 4 3/4 in.)
295 g
Inscriptions and Marks
  • maker's mark: under base, struck: RB [pellet below, in shield-shaped punch] [unidentified maker]

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
David Berg, New York, bequest; to the Fogg Museum, 1999.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Bequest of David Berg
Accession Year
1999
Object Number
1999.306.9
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Sexafoil base raised on reeded foot, engraved on one lobe with crucifix surmounted by INRI within a mandala of rays, each corner engraved with a fleur-de-lys, rising to knopped baluster stem applied with three conjoined cherub heads, and plain, unscrewing tapering bowl.

Publication History

  • Christopher Hartop, British and Irish Silver in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University Art Museums/Yale University Press (Cambridge, Mass. and New Haven, 2007), pp. 38-40, cat. no. 8, repr. in color on p. 39, details repr. p. 38.

Exhibition History

  • 32Q: 2340 Cabinet Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 09/24/2019; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/25/2019 - 06/02/2025

Subjects and Contexts

  • Google Art Project

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu