A Victorian silver cup and cover , R. & S. Garrard, London, 1862

on hexafoil lobed foot, the baluster stem cast with gargoyles, the conforming waisted bowl and detachable cover chased with grotesque masks and foliage on a matted ground, inscribed, the base stamped R&S GARRARD PANTON STREET LONDON

The inscription reads 'Albert Victor Mensdorff von seinen Pathen Albert & Vicroria Septr. 1861'

The recipient of this cup and cover was Count Albert Victor Julius Joseph Michael Mensdorff-Pouilly-Dietrichstein. He was born on 5 September 1861, the younger son of Count Alexander Mensdorff-Pouilly (1813-1871) and his wife, Countess Alexandrine Marie von Dietrichstein-Nicholsburg (1824-1906). Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the child's cousins and godparents, were grandchildren of his great-grandfather, Duke Franz of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1750-1806) whose daughter, Princess Sophia (1778-1835) married Count Emanual von Mensdorff-Pouilly (1777-1852). The latter were the parents of the aforementioned Count Alexander Mensdorff-Pouilly.

Count Albert Victor, who entered the Austrian diplomatic service at an early age, was appointed in 1886 to Paris. In 1889 he was transferred to London as 1st Secretary at the Austro-Hungarian Embassy, where he eventually became ambassador in 1904. Through his family connections he enjoyed an unrivalled entrée to the British court and he was very active in the months before the outbreak of the First World War in negotiations to avert hostilities. Although he was obliged to resign his post in London in August 1914 he was entrusted many times during the next few years with missions directed towards the restoration of peace. In 1920 he represented the Austrian Republic on its admittance to the League of Nations. Following his death in 1945 his papers were lodged in the State Archives in Vienna.

A number of similar cups and covers, based on 16^th Century German goldsmiths' masterpieces, were made by Garrard's in various sizes, in silver, parcel-gilt and silver-gilt, some more elaborate than others, during the middle of the 19^th Century. One such was the principal piece in a group of plate presented on 16 June 1855 to Alderman R.J. Spiers, late Mayor of Oxford, which The Illustrated London News (30 June 1855, p.653) described as 'in the cinque-cento style of decoration. It is thirty inches high, and covered with bulbs and arabesque ornaments of the most elaborate character. The cup itself has been copied from an exquisite example in the Print-room of the British Museum, and which is attributed to Cellini.'