Collection Highlights
Badge of the Society of the Cincinnati
Date:
ca. 1802
Object Number:
1972.12ab
Medium:
Silk, gold, enamel
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Museum Collections
Luce Center
Standing cup
Object Number:
1947.16
Date:
ca. 1856
Medium:
Silver
Dimensions:
Overall: 6 5/8 x 3 1/2 in. (8.9 x 16.8 cm)
Silver Weight: 11 oz (troy) 7 dwt (353 g)
Marks:
engraved: on shield applique: "C" in gothic script
stamped: interior of footring: "K (or R) G H"
Description:
Wrought silver standing cup; bowl-shaped body with an applied, reeded rim, on a high, splayed foot with a plain, applied footring; foot has all over repoussé chased floral decoration; appliqued silver figures, and landscape depicting the battle of Nanking around a seven story pagoda; background engraved to suggest a landscape; gothic "C" engraved on an applied shield on the center front; maker's mark on the interior of the footring.
Gallery Label:
This standing cup was presented to merchant William Wetmore Cryder (1835-1918), a founder of Wetmore & Cryder, a New York mercantile firm that imported camphor and raw silk from China. According to the family, the cup was given to William Wetmore Cryder in Canton around the time of the firm's dissolution in 1856, an event that coincided with the beginning of the Second Opium War (1856-1860) between China and Britain over importation of the addictive drug. The cup's applied cast decoration is typical of silver made by Chinese craftsmen for the export market. The story depicted by the cast figures, foliage, and landscape may relate to the 1856 Battle of Nanking.
Credit Line:
Gift of Henry Chauncey Cryder
Provenance:
William Wetmore Cryder (1835-1914), who married Helen Chauncey (1844-1904); to their son Henry Chauncey Cryder (1870-1958), the donor.
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
