Royal Worcester Limoges Enamel Chalice and Cover, Dated 1867
A Royal Worcester 'Limoges Enamel' decorated exhibition quality chalice and cover, dated 1867, the enamel decoration by Thomas Bott, Snr, the tapering cup-shaped body on a knopped stem and circular foot, the cover with a domed and finialled centre, cobalt blue ground with enamelled motifs and gilt details throughout, the body decorated all round with a gilt arcade enclosing female figures personifying classical virtues, each identified, finely rendered in white enamel, signed and dated by Bott underside, 11.81 in. high. Other notes: Potentially Exhibited at the 1867 Paris Exposition Universelle (given date and very early signature). Condition: Wear to the gilding at the meeting edges of rim and cover with possible regilding
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- Knop (ceramics) - In ceramics, a knop is a protuberance on the top of an object, and can be either decorative, or used as a knob to lift the item.
- Gilding - Gilding is a method of ornamentation whereby a thin sheet of gold metal is applied to items made of wood, leather, ceramics, glass and silver for decorative purposes.
For furniture including mirrors, the sheet of gold is usually applied over a coating of gesso. Gesso is a mixture of plaster of Paris and gypsum mixed with water and then applied to the carved wooden frames of mirrors and picture frames as a base for applying the gold leaf. After numerous coats of gesso have been applied, allowed to dry and then sanded a coat of "bole", a usually red coloured mixture of clay and glue is brushed on and allowed to dry, after which the gold leaf is applied. Over time parts of the gilding will rub off so the base colour can be seen. In water gilding, this was generally a blue colour, while in oil gilding, the under layer was often yellow. In Victorian times, gilders frequently used red as a pigment beneath the gold leaf.
Metal was often gilded by a process known as fire gilding. Gold mixed with mercury was applied and heated, causing the mercury to evaporate, the long-term effect of which was to kill or disable the craftsman or woman from mercury poisoning. The pursuit of beauty has claimed many victims, not the least of which were the artists who made those pieces so highly sought after today.
This item has been included into following indexes:
- Bott, Thomas (England) - Royal Worcester artists 22
- Royal Worcester (England), item types
