A Victorian silver-gilt presentation cup and cover, EDWARD BARNARD & SONS, LONDON, 1859

richly chased and engraved on one side with a presentation inscription, the finial in the form of a huntsman clearing a five-barred gate above an engraved coat-of-arms, crest and motto, the underside stamped: '533 B', together with a fitted oak case with dark blue baize lining

Overall good condition, gilding is later, probably the same date as the case, late 19th Century For further queries please contact the Silver Department directly on +44(0)207 293 5100
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The inscription reads: 'Presented By Friends and others [sic] Inhabitants of Weston Super Mare and the Yeomen of the Neighbourhood to W. Wyndham Lewis [sic], Esq: As A Token of their regard and respect and of the high Estimation in which he is universally held, for his King & Courteous demeanour and Sportsman-like qualities. October. 1859.'

The arms are those of Lewis impaling Overton for Wyndham William Lewis who was born on 10 August 1827, the son of Henry Lewis and his wife, Mary, daughter of George Emerson. Appointed Sherriff of Glamorgan 1855, he had two daughters by his first wife, Anne, daughter of George Overton, whom he married in 1850. He died in 1870.'

'PRESENTATION OF A TESTIMONIAL TO MR. WYNDHAM W. LEWIS.

'The fashionable town of Weston-super-Mare was on Wednesday [12 October 1859] the scene of unusual gaiety and bustle, in consequence of its having been fixed upon for the presentation to Wyndham W. Lewis, Esq., of the Grove, of a testimonial subscribed for by the leading residents of the place and the yeomen of the surrounding country...

'The testimonial, the furnishing of which was entrusted by the subscribers to Mr. Robins, silversmith, of Weston-super-Mare, was designed and made to his order by the well-known artists and manufacturers of silver plate, Messrs. Barnard and Sons, of St. Martin's-le-Grand, London. It consisted of a massive silver cup and cover, weighing about 120 ounces, and a richly engraved silver hunting horn. The cup, which stands more than eighteen inches high, is of exquisite Grecian mould, and has been ornamented with a regard for the special purpose for which it was designed. Round the base is a wreath of oak with acorns embossed in half frosted and burnished silver, suggestive of the sylvan character of hunting sports and the sturdiness of the English character; the handles represent the reeds of the vine intertwining, and they branch out at their jointure with the cup into finely moulded clusters of grape leaves. The rim of the cover is formed of a circlet of overhanging vine leaves in frosted silver, with clusters of grapes in burnished silver, and the andle on the top of the cover, and by which it is lifted off, represents a huntsman clearing a five-barred gate. The figure and horse are designed with great spirit, and they are both beautifully sculptured in frosted silver. On the cup is a sporting subject in base relief representing the death of the fox. Poor Reynard has just succumbed to the dogs, and a huntsman who is in at the death ''winds the mellow hunting horn'' in invitation to some members of the hunt who are seen in the distance. ...

'The presentation took place at a magnificent banquet, to which Mr. Lewis was invited at the Assembly-Room of the Railway Hotel. The committee had spared no pains in their endeavour to give éclat to the occasion, and the hotel was ornamented from roof to basement with flags and festoons of evergreens and flowers. ...

' [Afterwards] The plate, which was mounted on a small oak pedestal hung with crimson velvet and silver lace and bullion, was then uncovered, and (amidst loud cheering) presented by the Chairman to Mr. Lewis. ...' (The Bristol Mercury, Bristol, Saturday, 15 October 1859, p. 7a/b)