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Sugar basket: M.46 & A-1961

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Object information

Current Location: In storage

Maker(s)

Silversmith: Spilsbury, Francis II

Entities

Categories

Description

Silver; the cylindrical sides pierced with a dog and birds amid scrolling foliage

Silver; the cylindrical sides beneath a wavy gadroon edged rim, are pierced and engraved with a dog and birds amid scrolling foliage. The circular base stands on three pierced bracket feet. The swing handle is made of twisted wire. The body is fitted with a blue glass liner (A).

Notes

History note: Not known before testator

Legal notes

L.C.G. Clarke Bequest, 1960

Place(s) associated

  • London ⪼ England

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1960) by Clarke, Louis Colville Gray

Dating

18th Century, third quarter
George III
1769 CE - 1770 CE

Note

Label text from the exhibition ‘Feast and Fast: The Art of Food in Europe, 1500–1800’, on display at The Fitzwilliam Museum from 26 November 2019 until 31 August 2020: Sugar basket with dog and birds, with liner, on 3 bracket feet Perfect for cooking, refined granulated sugar was also ideal for use at the table as a sweetener, either for sprinkling onto food or for dissolving into fashionable hot beverages, like tea, coffee, and chocolate, otherwise considered too bitter to drink. Kept in airtight ceramic storage jars in the kitchen, it was presented in more elegant containers and dispensers for the dining- and tea-table. Made in all shapes, sizes, and materials, sugar bowls, basins, and baskets normally came with a silver spoon for dispensing, while sugar casters, sifters, and shakers were designed for ‘dredging’ sugar directly onto food. These sugar containers were usually decorated with exotic motifs to underline the far-away provenance of their contents.

School or Style

Rococo

Components of the work

Liner composed of glass
Across Rim Diameter 7.2 cm Diameter 2¾ in
To Rim Height 7.7 cm Height 3 in
Without Liner Weight 110 g Weight 3 : 5 oz : dwt
Decoration
Feet
Glass Liner
Sides

Materials used in production

Silver

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: leopard's head crowned

  • Location: On the underside of the base
  • Method of creation: Struck
  • Type: Hallmark

Inscription present: lion passant

  • Location: On the underside of the base
  • Method of creation: Struck
  • Type: Hallmark
  • Text: n
  • Location: On the underside of the base
  • Method of creation: Struck
  • Type: Hallmark
  • Text: FS
  • Location: On the underside of the base
  • Method of creation: Struck
  • Type: Maker's mark

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: M.46 & A-1961
Primary reference Number: 157600
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 24 November 2020 Last processed: Wednesday 13 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Sugar basket" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/157600 Accessed: 2024-11-22 08:49:08

Citation for Wikipedia

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/157600 |title=Sugar basket |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-22 08:49:08|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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