1876-Dated Sterling Silver Engraved Presentation Cup as a Diplomatic Gift on behalf of Queen Victoria to President of the U.S. Centennial Commission General Hawley, created by London Silversmith Edward Charles Brown, the lid Surmounted by a finely Cast Owl with Red Inset Eyes, a National Treasure, Choice Virtually as New.
The Centennial Exhibition opened on May 10, 1876 in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park on the exact date engraved on this beautiful Sterling Silver Presentation Cup, as America's first World's Fair, marking the 100th anniversary of Independence, with 37 participating nations including Great Britain. This Impressive Diplomatic Gift being a large Engraved Sterling Silver Two Handled Presentation Cup and Cover, engraved in a highly ornate style that reads, in full:

"On the Occasion of The Centennial Celebration This Cup Together with a Purse of Gold was Presented to General Hawley by The Special Commissioner of Great Britain Sir Edward Thornton Representing HER MAJESTY QUEEN VICTORIA On This Illustrious Occasion, May 10th 1876"

Sir Edward Thornton (1817-1906) was indeed British Minister (Ambassador) to the United States from (1867-1881) meaning he held that exact post on the date engraved on this cup. The surrounding and overall superb engraved decorations are exceptional and remain “as made” in 1876, on behalf of Queen Victoria to President of the U.S. Centennial Commission, General Joseph R. Hawley.

Measuring about 17 tall x 10 inches wide, it is hallmarked London, made by Edward Charles Brown. This prominent Victorian silversmith trained under George J. Richards beginning in 1845, and became his partner in 1857. This Diplomatic Gift Presentation Cup is registered his "ECB" maker's mark, struck on the base alongside full London hallmarks. This cup rises from a stepped, spreading foot through a baluster stem to a generously proportioned bowl, flanked by two elaborate scrolling handles. The whole body is densely hand-worked with engraved foliate scrollwork and a naturalistic floral spray beneath this main inscription panel, bordered above and below in beaded and gadrooned bands. Its domed cover continues this same dense engraved ornamentation and lifts to a finely modeled wonderful Silver OWL finial. Its natural plumage is crisply chased feather by feather, with inset reddish glass eyes giving this bird a genuinely lifelike presence as it perches, talons gripping a naturalistically textured rocky mound.

General Joseph R. Hawley (1826-1905), was a Union Army General during the Civil War who rose to command a division, and later served as the Governor of Connecticut, and on a long career as a United States Senator. Hawley’s most singular achievement was chairing and presiding over this United States Centennial Commission as its President. This body was responsible for organizing the Centennial International Exhibition held in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park in 1876. Overall, combining fine Victorian silversmithing, and with an inscription tying it directly and verifiable to one of this most significant single days in nineteenth century American public life, this Diplomatic Gift on behalf of Queen Victoria stands a a national treasure.
this United States Centennial Commission as its President, this body responsible for organizing this Centennial International Exhibition held in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park in 1876. That Exhibition was this first official World's Fair held on American soil, drew an estimated ten million visitors over its six month run, and stood as this young nation's most ambitious public statement of industrial and cultural achievement on this hundredth anniversary of its own independence. May 10, 1876 was this Exhibition's grand opening day, presided over by President Ulysses S. Grant and Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil among other dignitaries, and it was on this very day that Sir Edward Thornton presented this impressive engraved commemorative Silver Cup to Hawley on behalf of Queen Victoria.

Special Commissioner of Great Britain Sir Edward Thornton, who served as Britain's Minister Plenipotentiary to this United States for fourteen years beginning in 1867, represented one of this Exhibition's most closely watched foreign delegations, since Britain's formal participation and royal blessing carried real symbolic weight at an event celebrating “American Independence” from British rule exactly one century earlier. A gift of this scale and craftsmanship, being accompanied by a purse of gold, reflected this seriousness with which Britain approached that gesture of reconciliation and goodwill. This cup survives today as a rare, fully documented historic artifact of that specific diplomatic moment.


[Gilded Age, World's Fairs and Expositions, Centennial Exhibition] [Joseph R. Hawley, Sir Edward Thornton, Queen Victoria] [Silver, Presentation and Trophy Pieces, Decorative Arts]