An extraordinary pair of Victorian silver-gilt cups, Benjamin Preston, London, 1838 and 1839

the bowl of each in the form of a stylized floccosus mushroom growing from a circular base cast with woodland litter, one further inhabited by a lizard, the other with a lizard and beetle, the underside of one engraved in freehand script: '8785,' the other: '8894,' both numbers cancelled  with Xs and freehand engraved, presumably at a later date with the number '0121' respectively

Good clear marks within decoration of each foot. Gilding a nice colour. Gauge good. No obvious losses. Good overall.
"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."

Benjamin Preston (1796-1887), son of Benjamin Preston (1768?-1848) of the Assay Office, Goldsmiths’ Hall, London and his wife, Elizabeth (née Mann), was apprenticed as a silversmith in 1810 to Edward Barnard of Paternoster Row. He gained his freedom on 3 December 1817 and became a Liveryman of the Goldsmiths’ Company in April 1835. His career as an independent working silversmith began upon entering his maker’s mark from 41 Coppice Row, Clerkenwell on 16 September 1825. At that time and until the mid 1850s he appears to have been an outworker for several retail silversmiths, including Kensington Lewis of 22 St. James’s Street (a silver-gilt dessert stand, 1834, Sotheby’s Belgravia, 21 February 1974, lot 135); William Henry Osborn of Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury and later of 22 St. James’s Street (entrée dishes, covers and stands, 1833, Christie’s, London, 23 November 1977, lot 46; and a silver-gilt salver designed for the 6th Duke of Bedford by Edwin Landseer, 1837, Woburn Abbey); and David Ellis of John Street, Oxford Street (a large inkstand, 1834, Sotheby’s, London, 13 June 1983, lot 97). By 1854, when he was 58, Preston may have been working as a journeyman for William Wright, a silversmith of the same generation who at the time of the 1861 Census was also living at 41 Coppice Row where Preston is described as ‘Silversmith (Journeyman).’ This relationship seems to have existed since at least 1854, the date of a presentation salver which has been noted with the mark of Benjamin Preston overstruck by that of William Wright (Sotheby’s Belgravia, 22 May 1980, lot 626). By the time of the 1871 Census, Preston is described as a ‘Retired Silversmith’ of Boxdale, Walton-on-the-Hill, near Epsom, Surrey, where he was living with his wife Sarah Farrer (née Drake, 1801-1874) and one of his children, Sarah Ann (1832/34?-1912). Preston died at the age of 91 at this address on 18 September 1887.

Preston’s connection with Kensington Lewis was more than passing; as noted, above, the former produced a dessert stand for Lewis in 1834/35, and a letter from Lewis (writing from 22 St. James’s Street) in the Victoria & Albert Museum, dated 6 May 1836 suggests that he was relying on Preston to fulfil another order: ‘Mr. Lewis informs Mr. Preston that he must have the Drawing of the Cup he is making for him, without fail by tomorrow Saturday afternoon, the Gentleman has just been here & otherwise he will lose the opportunity.’ Furthermore, a large parcel-gilt sideboard dish, London, 1833, which was sold at Christie’s, London on 21 October 1981 (lot 47) bears a remarkable resemblance to the work of Edward Farrell, Lewis’s chief silversmith from about 1815 to 1834/35. When Lewis gave up as a retail silversmith in 1837/38 to concentrate on ventures in property, his St. James’s Street shop was taken over by William Henry Osborn, formerly of Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury. If it is accepted that the latter was successor to Lewis’s business as well as his shop, then it may be that the cups in this lot were retailed by Osborn.

The numbers ‘8785’ and ‘8894’ engraved in freehand script on the undersides of these cups may tell a different story, however. These are similar in appearance to other four-digit numbers which are to be found on many items which were sold through Rundell, Bridge & Rundell and their successors, Rundell, Bridge & Co., the royal goldsmiths which closed at the end of 1843. Although no link has yet been found between Rundell’s and Benjamin Preston, the extraordinary design of these cups chimes well with some of the unusual silver pieces made for the former during the last two decades of its existence. Examples which may be cited, which bear the mark of John Tapley, one of Rundell’s last permanent manufacturing outworkers, are a vine pattern centrepiece, 1835 (Christie’s, London, 14 July 1993, lot 16); and a set of six strawberry dishes and a pair of cream boats, each formed as overlapping sea kale leaves on whelk feet, from Earl Lonsdale’s collection (erroneously catalogued as Joseph Taylor, Christie’s, London, 27 May 1959, lot 67). Some of Rundell’s earlier pieces, particularly those bearing the mark of John Bridge between 1823 and 1834, are also in a similarly exotic vein.