Ornate English Sterling Silver Cup Hallmarked for London 1851 – William Ker Reid Silvermaker

A sumptuously ornate sterling silver cup with an interior gold wash and outer surround of figural relief of man rowing a raft to a “palm tree” shore landscape, made by William Ker Reid, London 1851.

Reid & Sons is a firm of a long family line of silversmiths founded in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1788 by Christian Ker Reid who had 13 children. William (1787-1868) being the most industrious son, set up his own new partnerships with his son Edward.

In 1838 the company Reid & Sons received a Royal Appointment from Queen Victoria and exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and at the 1862 International Exhibition held in London. Many notable commissions include a timepiece for the Newcastle & Berwick Railway, now in the collection of the Science Museum in London. Examples of their marine chronometers are held in the collection of the National maritime Museum in Greenwich London. The firm continues to trade today as part of the ‘Goldsmiths Group’. In 2013 Reid & Sons celebrated its 235th anniversary.

A beautiful lavish cup with a remarkable historical silversmith story just adds to the intrigue and desire to collect it.

Dimensions: height 4.0″ x width 4.25″