Victorian silver goblet

A large and impressive antique silver goblet with gilded interior. The bowl and base are both hand-chased in fine detail and in high relief, while there are delicate bead pattern borders around the stem and rim.

In the mid-fifteenth century landed gentry owned goblets and other drinking vessels crafted in silver. Since then the goblet has remained almost entirely unchanged in its form and, since their design was eminently practical, wine glasses, with flat bases, thin stems and conical bowls, were base on this model.

Superstitious drinkers in the seventeenth century the believed that precious metals promoted better health hence the demand for silver goblets increased. Their cost meant that they remained exclusively for the richest.