Trophy Cup and Cover

1792–1793

Trophy Cup and Cover, 1792–1793. Peter Bateman (British, 1740–1825), Anne Bateman (British, 1748–1813). Silver gilt; overall: 59.7 x 40 cm (23 1/2 x 15 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Anonymous gift in memory of Margaret Quayle Kerruish; the Thomas S. Grasselli Memorial Collection, and various donors by exchange 1968.30 Silver fulfilled a prominent role in projecting wealth, status, power, and ritual in British life during the 1600s and 1700s. Elaborate forms such as this trophy, with its swags of flowers, neoclassical rosettes, acanthus spears, and acorn finial, not only represented wealth in its sheer silver weight but also provided royal and aristocratic owners a surface for displaying engraved coats of arms. Engraved on one side of this trophy cup can be found the arms of Robert Grosvenor (1767–1845), the first Marquess of Westminster, and Lady Eleanor Egerton (1770–1846), whom he married in 1794, a year after the trophy’s completion. The other side depicts preparations for a horserace, the most culturally significant leisure activity enjoyed by aristocratic families in the 1700s. Grosvenor owned a number of famous horses and was likely awarded this trophy following a successful race. The graceful form of this trophy by Peter Bateman and his sister-in-law Anne Dowling Bateman is reminiscent of the elegant designs produced by their mother Hester Bateman (1708–1794), one of the most celebrated female silversmiths of all time.