Christopher Dresser Elkington Persian Copper Chalice Shah Persia 1889 Islamic

Persian influence copper chalice or footed cup by Elkington & Co for Shah of Persia. This is a rare opportunity to acquire a significant and important piece of history! We are proud to offer this exquisite chalice or footed cup that is covered with Persian design and motifs and may at first appear to be of Persian origin but is actually manufactured in Birmingham England by the famous Elkington factory. Now any right minded person would immediately ask Why would a Persian chalice be manufactured in England?

- and that is a very good question! The answer lies with some extensive research that we have undertaken which demonstrates that this stunning work of art was made to show to the Shah of Persia when he visited the Elkington factory in 1889! Nasr ud Deen Shah, the Emperor of Persia was the first Shah to visit Europe. However, new markets were emerging and the Shah wanted to take advantage of the technology being developed in Britain.

We have also recently acquired a selection of silver plated flatware manufactured by James Dixon & Company that was shown to the Shah of Persia when he visited their factory in Sheffield in 1873. Nasr ud Deen Shah visited the Elkington factory on August 3. 1889 as shown in the image above taken from the London Illustrated News. The page shown above depicts seven scenes from that visit and if you observe closely you can see the vignette numbered'5', bottom-centre of the page, in an oval shape, the text for that scene reads. Dipping a Two-Shilling piece at Messrs Elkington's. If you observe even closer, you can see several items on display behind the dipping vat. There is a large ewer at the back, with some type of tureen or bowl with a cover. Next to the tureen is the outline of a cup which looks remarkably similar to the one we are offering. The cup itself has been hand made and is beaten copper with beautiful nastaliq calligraphy in three panels. Every inch is covered with intricate hand beaten patterns of geometric and vegetal type designs. The overall effect is stunning and the colour is beautiful. The inscriptions are on three reserve panels separated by roundels and lozenge shaped panels containing floral designs. The foot is also decorated with four roundels and a band of floral designs.

Even the underside of the bowl is covered in detailed patterns. And if that did not convince you that this is a piece of the highest quality, the upper rim has been folded over and it has also been delightfully covered in elegant nastaliq calligraphy. On the underside is an oval shaped medallion which reads. Elkingtons Science and Art Department with the VR for Queen Victoria (Victoria Regina) under a crown with shamrock (representing Ireland), rose (representing England) and a thistle (representing Scotland). If you look very closely there is also a four digit inventory or register mark on the rim of the foot.

The same medallion is found on a large plate in the Victoria & Albert Museum (London). This shield/medallion showed that Elkington's held the Royal Warrant. You can read some interesting information about Elkington's on the following link which also mentions that designs by Chistopher Dresser were fist registered by Elkington's in 1885. This stunning work of art was produced at a time that the industrial revolution was at it's peak and traditional methods of manufacture were being drowned out by the machinery of mass production.

As a result of this overbearing'ugliness' a movement was born known as the Aesthetic Movement which you can read about on the following link. There is a list of key artists involved in the movement on the left hand side of the above link which includes Christopher Dresser. Apart from Dresser other great artists such as Pugin also worked for Elkington's. Dresser was inspired by Far Eastern and Middle Eastern designs as you can read on the following link. A detailed account of Dresser's interest in Islamic Art can be found in the following article. Remarkably, on page 48 of the above article is the following information about Christopher Dresser's Islamic influenced metal work. He [Dresser] notes that one of the firms that he designed for, Elkington's, produced electrotype copies of such [Islamic] metalwork under the auspices of the Department of Science and Art, to be hired out at small cost. It is quite possible that he [Dresser] may have been involved in, or indeed instigated, this manufacture. Furthermore, you can see Christopher Dresser floral motifs in the above article that are remarkably similar to those on this chalice. This exquisite work of art stands just 12cm in height with an upper diameter of 13.5cm.

It is overall in amazing condition with minor blemishes and wear & tear. Please see our other Islamic antiques and antiquities. TERMS & CONDITIONS OF SALE.

Cheques only acceptable from UK Banks in sterling. Please DO NOT leave your questions until the last couple of hours of the listing! All dimensions and measurements are approximate. Otherwise, do not expect an item to be covered for any loss or damage. The item "Christopher Dresser Elkington Persian Copper Chalice Shah Persia 1889 Islamic" is in sale since Saturday, October 6, 2018. This item is in the category "Antiques\Asian/Oriental Antiques\Islamic/Middle Eastern". The seller is "islamiqueantiques_dot_com" and is located in Bradford. This item can be shipped worldwide.