An Asprey Gold, Diamond and Green Enamel-Mounted Rock Crystal Cup and Cover

#18375: An Asprey Gold, Diamond and Green Enamel-Mounted Rock Crystal Cup and Cover
English, London, 1989
Cup: Height 27cm, width 9cm, depth 9cm
Case: Height 13cm, width 37cm, depth 16.5cm
This engraved rock crystal cup and cover has a deep ovoid bowl supported on a knopped stem and a stepped, domed foot. The domed cover is surmounted by a fluted rock crystal finial. Bowl and cover are engraved with foliate scrolls and ribbon-tied garlands of fruit, flowers and leaves, interspersed with pendant bell-flowers. Enamel collars mark the finial, stem and foot.
The ornament is cut in intaglio and left matt, so that it reads as frosted against the polished surface of the crystal. Because the material is transparent, the engraving on the far side of the bowl remains visible through the near side. Rock crystal is a form of quartz and is harder than glass. It is engraved with rotating copper wheels charged with abrasive compounds. The scrolling foliage and ribbon-bound garlands draw on the decoration of Renaissance hardstone vessels and of later Neoclassical design.
The mounts are in 18-carat gold, set with brilliant-cut diamonds and decorated with green guilloché enamel. A diamond-set border encircles the shoulder beneath a reeded gold band. The enamelled collar below is applied with diamond-set swags and modelled roses in yellow and white gold. Further diamond-set bands, framed in enamel, decorate the stem. The foot has a broad enamelled border set with diamonds between gold mouldings, and a matching enamel collar sits beneath the finial.
The gold rim is engraved with the Asprey name and bears a full set of hallmarks. These include the maker's mark, the crown and 750 standard marks for 18-carat gold, the leopard's head for London and the date letter for 1989. The cup comes with a fitted case bearing the name of Garrard. George Wickes founded Garrard in 1735, and the firm was appointed Crown Jeweller in 1843. Asprey acquired Garrard in 1990, and the two firms traded together as Asprey & Garrard from 1998 until their separation in 2002.
Asprey was founded in London in 1781 and became known for jewellery, silver and objets d'art made for private clients and royal households. The cup belongs to a long tradition of ceremonial and display vessels. That tradition runs from the hardstone cups of Renaissance princely collections and the Kunstkammer to the jewelled objects of the 19th and 20th centuries. Like those vessels, it combines lapidary work, goldsmithing, enamelling and gem-setting in a single object.
$225,000