Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción (Guatemala City), 1797
Gold-plated and filigree silver, raised, shaped and cast
Goblet: height 9 cm; width of the mouth 14.5 cm; diameter of the base 7 cm
Salver: height 5 cm; width of the plate 25.8 cm; diameter of the base 12.5 cm
Marks: two on the interior of the base of the salver: Santiago on horseback between two volcanos in a square frame with beveled corners and a royal ‘de busto’ crown
Inscriptions: on the reverse of the plate in Spanish script: “Recuerdo de Pedro Ordóñez a John y Maria Cholmeley Dios bendiga a tus Yjos venideros Año de 1797 +” [Souvenir from Pedro Ordóñez to John and Maria Cholmeley May God bless your forthcoming children Year 1797 +”]; in the interior of the goblet in English “Montague John Chomeley / August 6th, 1802” “Elizabeth Cholmeley/Sep. 19th 1803”, “Henry Daniel Cholmeley / April 6, 1810”, “Charlotte Maria Cholmeley Baptised Sep. 2, 1804”, “Frances Cholmeley Baptised August 5th 1807”, “James Harrison Cholmeley Baptised March 2, 1808”, “Henry Daniel Cholmeley / April 6, 1810”.
A bell-shaped goblet formed by a spheroid body, an oblique neck with an octagonal profile supported on a slightly recessed circular base and a tapered pedestal. It is complemented with an octagonal salver, with a flat and wide seat to fit the base of the goblet. The base of the salver is circular and finished with twenty-eight filigreed gadroons. Both the glove and salver are decorated with filigreed natural compositions, six-petalled rosettes and triangular compositions. Around the foot of the salver are semicircular scalloped shapes and pearl molding. In addition to the rivets that secure the filigree to the goblet, there is a curious joint with a pin and a ring placed between the body and the neck. The two precise marks on the inside of the foot of the salver confirm that it was created in Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción (Guatemala City). This version differs from the marks of location previously discussed. While it retains the image of Santiago on horseback between volcanos, in this version, he has his sword raised above his head. The ‘de busto’ crown is the same as in the previously mentioned examples but it, and the image of Santiago, are larger362 than those used between 1770 and 1790. There is no known extant piece with similar characteristics to establish a stylistic comparison to determine the artist, but it is reminiscent of the wine vessel (bernegal) in this exhibtion (Fig. 1) which was so popular in the Hispanic world, including Guatemala.363 The octagonal form of the mouth of the goblet and the plate364 is similar to the work produced in the second quarter of the eighteenth century, when polygonal shapes were extremely popular in silver designs. Therefore, it is possible that the piece was created before 1797 and only marked in 1797 when it was leaving Guatemala. But, because there is no documentation to confirm this speculation, the dating remains as 1797.
