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The flat-chased Chinoiserie figures carrying a canopy on the newly acquired James II Coronation Cup demonstrate the original purpose of its recycled silver: they reflect the decoration of canopies carried by barons of the Cinque Ports over the heads of the newly crowned monarch and his consort. This article places the new acquisition in the context of surviving Coronation silver and furnishings in the V&A Collections and elsewhere , including canopy bells and staves, tankards, cups, a punch bowl, a counter box, George II's canopy and George IV's footstool. The James II Coronation Cup Figure 1 - Cup and Cover, England, about 1685. Silver-gilt, unmarked. Height: 13 cm Weight 16 oz. 1 dwt. Museum no. M. 34-2008 All claims were considered by the Coronation Claims Office, within the Cabinet Office, which took advice from senior legal, ceremonial and ecclesiastical experts.
Figure 3 - Monteith Racing Trophy by Robert Cooper, London, England, 1688-9. Silver, height 22.9 cm. Museum no. M.25-2002 The Earl of Erroll will also bear a silver baton or staff as Lord High Constable of Scotland, while the Bishop of Durham and Bishop of Bath and Wells will be Bishop Assistant to The King, the Earl of Dundee will carry the Quartering of the Standard (Scotland) in Procession, The Lord Lyon King of Arms & Heralds and Pursuivants of Scotland will be part of The King’s procession and the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery, will record the proceedings. The taste for Chinoiserie reflects the growing importance of European trade with China following the foundation of the London-based East India Company in 1600. By the 1670s the establishment of a trading base off Fujian resulted in large-scale shipments to England of admired Chinese goods. Such trade fostered a European market for furniture japanned in imitation of true oriental lacquer. Bed hangings and curtains of imported Chinese silk damasks created appropriate settings for such exotic possessions. By 1688, John Stalker's & William Parker's 'A Treatise of Japaning and Varnishing' was published to appeal to the growing taste for professional and amateur japanning. It was appropriately dedicated to Mary, Countess of Derby, Lady of the Bedchamber to the new Queen Mary II, daughter of James II and his first wife Anne Hyde. Chinoiserie was an appropriately exotic visual language for furnishings associated with the monarch. (5)Other recorded examples of silver recycled from coronation bells and stave mounts include a tankard made for the senior baron Tobias Cleve, who represented Sandwich after the Coronation of Charles II (now in the collection of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, London); and a punch bowl and ladle by London goldsmiths George Boothby and William Fordham, made following George II's Coronation, belonging to the Corporation of Hastings. (9) The tankard is inscribed, 'This Pott was made of ye Silver of ye Canopie when King Charles ye 2d was Crowned, Aprill 23d 1661'. The Hastings punch bowl is inscribed as follows: Baines, J. Manwaring. 'The Cinque Ports and Coronation Services'. Hastings Museum Publication, No.18, 3rd edition, 1968. The chair and footstool covered with purple velvet used by Archbishop Juxon at the Coronation of Charles II, and given to the Archbishop after that Coronation, came to the V&A in 1928 and are currently displayed in the British Galleries. (24) The Barons of the Cinque Ports, a historic group of representatives of 14 coastal towns in South East England, will also attend the ceremony, as will a member of the Walker Trustees - the Episcopal Bishop of Edinburgh, who previously performed the role of Usher of the White Rod. Perry, Edward. Gift Plate from Westminster Hall Coronation Banquets. Apollo. Double Coronation Number, LVII, no.340, (1953): 198-200.
I am grateful to Harry Williams-Bulkeley for bringing this to my attention. Marked by Francis Garthorne, it was subsequently in the Mulliner Collection and the Percival Davis Griffiths Collection and shown in the Park Lane Exhibition, 1929, no.55. It will be auctioned in London, by Christie's, on 20 November 2009 (lot 40) The Lord Great Chamberlain – One of the Officers of State, the Lord Great Chamberlain had traditionally played a major role in Coronations. For the Coronation in May, the Lord Great Chamberlain will take part in the investing of The King with the regalia - the Crown Jewels. V&A: W.12 & 13-1928. Wilk Christopher, ed. Western Furniture 1350 to the Present Day. London, 1996: 68. Two of the barons, members of the same family, Cresheld and Gawden Draper, combined their share - probably one stave mount and one bell - which were melted down to make this commemorative cup and cover. As the combined weights of one mount and one bell were just under 36 ounces, and the cup and cover weighs just over 16 ounces, it is possible that two cups were made, one for each member of the family who attended the coronation. However, only one is known today. Baines, J. Manwaring. 'The Cinque Ports and Coronation Services'. Hastings Museum Publication, No.18, 3rd edition, 1968: 11. The information on the cake basket was provided by Charles Truman.The news comes after it has been announced that people from all walks of life who have been awarded British Empire Medals for their service to the community have been invited to attend the Coronation Service at Westminster Abbey. Of course, there was only one man standing out in full ceremonial splendour on the day, but in a mark of respect for the momentous occasion, the male guests watching King Charles III’s Coronation put their best feet (and suits) forward too. Although the James II Coronation Cup is currently displayed in the V&A's New Acquisitions Gallery it will return to the Whiteley Silver Galleries for display with the coronation bells in 2010. It is hoped that in due course, a small touring exhibition of Coronation silver may be arranged, including this exciting new acquisition, to be shown in museums in the Cinque Ports of Dover, Hastings and Sandwich. Endnotes Although the cup and cover are typical for the form at this date, and the armorials and inscription are standard for the 1680s, the 'Chinoiserie' flat chased decoration of figures supporting the canopy is of particular significance. Further research may demonstrate that the canopies used at James II's Coronation were of'cloth of gold' woven in China. Increased interest in Chinoiserie was inspired by the publication of recent travels in China by Johannes Nieuhof (1618-1672). His account of 'An Embassy from the East-India Company of the United Province, to the Grand Tartar Cham, Emperour of China 1665' , was first translated into English in 1669. (3) Steeped in British sartorial tradition, morning suits are the most stately of formal attire for men, synonymous with weddings and events like Royal Ascot. There’s a sense of solemnity to a morning suit – that majestic sweep of the tails, the waistcoat beneath (never with the bottom right button buttoned up). Wearing one makes an impact in a way a lounge suit never can. It was only right that they’d make a grand appearance at the Coronation.
The caption to the engraving in Sandford's publication reads, 'A canopy of Cloth of Gold, like that of the Kings, to be born over the QUEEN by Eight Barons of the Cinque-Ports with Four Silver Bells gilt hanging at the Corners. It was born by 16 Barons of the Cinque Ports there being 32 in all'.
DON’T ever wear one with jeans
For Coronation silver given to the Earls and subsequently Dukes of Ancaster, who served as successive Lord Great Chamberlain; to the Marquess of Exeter, Lord High Almoner at the Coronation of James II; to the Dukes of Norfolk in their role as Earl Marshal and Hereditary Marshal of England see Jones, E. Alfred. 'Some Coronation Plate'. The Burlington Magazine 70, no.410 (May, 1937): 240-247. In addition, 400 young people representing charitable organisations, nominated by The King and The Queen Consort and the UK Government, will have the opportunity to watch the Coronation Service and Procession from St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey, by kind permission of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Oliver Dowden, said: In 1991 the V&A acquired at auction the footstool made for the king's use at the Coronation of George IV (on long term loan to the Westminster Abbey Undercroft Museum). (25) The James II Coronation cup and cover formerly belonged to J. Pierpont Morgan, an outstanding collector of paintings, manuscripts and decorative arts; (26) the V&A already has a number of pieces previously owned by him. The earliest piece of silver in Morgan's collection was the small silver drinking bowl (1525-6) now in the Gilbert Collection, and displayed in the V&A's new Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Galleries. (27) In 1919 the V&A acquired an important collection of stained glass from J.P. Morgan's son. Examples are displayed in the V&A's Sacred Silver and Stained Glass Galleries. (28) The fashion for Chinoiserie decoration on contemporary silver extended to toilet services and vessels used in the service of wine. The toilet service from Sizergh Castle, circa 1680, and the Basingstoke monteith racing trophy (1688/9), used for serving punch and chilling wine glasses (fig. 3 ), are both chased with Chinoiserie and displayed in the V&A's Whiteley Silver Galleries. (4)
Figure 9 - Cup and Cover, Rundell, Bridge and Rundell, London, 1821-2. Gold, height 22.5 cm. Museum no. M.42-1982 Figure 4 - Engraving Showing the Canopy Held Over James II from Francis Sandford, The History of the Coronation of James II, London, 1687. V&A: National Art Library Figure 6 - Canopy, Spitalfields, London, England, 1727. Brocaded satin wtih patterning wefts of silver-gilt thread. 131.7 x 94,4cm. Museum no. T.184-1975 The International Genealogical Index. Cresheld Draper (d.1693) originally from Crayford, Kent was MP for Winchelsea from 1678 to 1687. He married Sarah Gauden of Clapham, Surrey, in 1665. She was the daughter of Sir Dennis Gauden of Mayland, Essex. Those chosen showed evidence that their claim related to a historic customary service performed at previous Coronations.This Silver Bowl was presented to the Corporation of Hasting (ye premier Cinque Port.) by ye Gentlemen whose Names are hereon Inscribed who had ye Honour to be unanimously Elected ye Barons of ye said Town to support ye Canopy over their sacred Royall Majesties King George ye 2nd and Queen Caroline at ye Solemnity of their Inauguration at Westminster the Eleventh day of October 1727. And ye same was made out of their Shares and dividend of the Silver Staves &c belonging to the said Canopy. (10) The Jewel House Delivery Book records the delivery of the silver ornaments for the canopies. (6) Three days before the Coronation, Sir Benjamin Bathurst received 'Twelve Large Canopy staves, crowned with silver 6 for his Majties & 6 for her Majties Canopy', weighing in all 369 ounces and 10 penny weights. Bathurst also received '8 gilt Bells' for 'each Canopy' with a combined weight of 61 ounces and 15 penny weights. Figure 5 - Engraving Showing the Canopy Held Over Mary of Modena from Francis Sandford, The History of the coronation of James II, London, 1687. V&A: National Art LibraryThe caption to the engraving in Sandford's publication reads, 'A canopy of Cloth of Gold to be born over the KING by Eight of the Sixteen Barons of the Cinque-Ports (two to a Staff) with Silver Bells gilt at each Corner of the said Canopy, viz. four in all (It was born by 16 of the 32 Barons of the Cinque Ports)'.
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