A 17th Century Silver-Gilt Tumbler Cup

Maker: 
Philip Hull
Dated: 
C.1685
Dimensions: 
2.75", 7 cm Diameter, 2", 5cm High

Of usual form, the tapering cylindrical body with two matted and three plain bands. The rim with threaded edge and the slightly indented base engraved with a later coat of arms.

Price: 
£5500
Provenance: 

Swiss Private Collector

Christies, 25th November 2008, lot 245 (sold for £4000 inc)

S.J Phillips

Alastair Dickenson Ltd.

Private Continental Collection

 

The arms are those of Thomas Impaling Keppel. It is not known who originally owned this cup but if it came by descent it might have belonged to Thomas of Wenvoe, Glamorganshire. The engraved arms are for General Sir John Thomas and his wife Sophia Keppel whom he married in 1731. John was the 2nd son of Sir Edmund Thomas, 2nd Baronet and his wife Mary (nee Howe). Sophia (1711-1773) was the daughter of Arnold Van Keppel, 1st Earl of Albemarle. He came over with William of Orange and was one of his closest confidantes. On William's death he granted £50,000 to his friend.

Please contact us for further information

Tumbler cups have always been popular with collectors,. This could be due to a number of reasons: the slight variations of those made in different parts of the country, the different forms of decoration or the sheer tactile feeling of handling one. The maker, Philip Hull, seems to have made a speciality of producing such cups, the most notable of which are a nesting set of six dated 1688/9 in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. In 1697 he signed a declaration of loyalty to William III.