A silver presentation cup and cover, Morozov, St Petersburg, 1908-1917

tapering cylindrical form, cast and chased with geometric and foliate freizes and applied with moonstones and amethysts, the body applied with arms of Petrograd and inscribed in English: The Petrograd Douma / to / Viscount Milner / Februa (sic)4/17 1917, rattan bands to the rim and foot, the domed lid similarly decorated and with finial formed from three Imperial Eagles, 84 standard

The Rt. Hon. Viscount Milner (1854-1925)

Sir Alfred Milner, later enobled Viscount Milner, was a British Statesman and Colonial Administrator who was heavily involved in the politics of South Africa at the turn of the twentieth century.  He effectively ran the Boer States during and after the Boer Wars with England. Due to the experience he gained managing the civilian element of war Milner was promoted to the four man War Cabinet by Prime Minister Lloyd George in 1916. This presentation cup is most likely to have been given to Viscount Milner when he attended an allied conference in St Petersburg in February 1917.