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- HESTER BATEMAN. The Vaughan Double Beaker Stirrup Cups made in London in 1788 by Hester Bateman.
HESTER BATEMAN. The Vaughan Double Beaker Stirrup Cups made in London in 1788 by Hester Bateman.
HESTER BATEMAN. The Vaughan Double Beaker Stirrup Cups made in London in 1788 by Hester Bateman.
375042
The famous Vaughan Hester Bateman Double Stirrup Cups were a very rare set of twelve Cups which were made for Robert Howell Vaughan, 1st Baronet of Nannau and Hengwrt, County Merioneth, Wales. One is contained within the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff. We are now very fortunate to be able to offer numbers 2 and 3 from the set. As you will see from the images, each is formed as a barrel with applied hoops and engraved staves. Each is engraved "Nanney 1787" and "Hengwrt 1788" and numbered 2 and 3, from the set of 12. The interiors are palely gilded and they are marked at each end. Each is in excellent condition.
The engraved names refer to the two seats of the Vaughans of Nannau, direct descendants of the Kings of Gwynedd and Powys. Hengwrt, built between 1750 and 1754 by Hugh Vaughan Esq., High Sheriff of Merioneth in 1752, occupied the site of an older house which had been the home of Robert Vaughan (1592-1667), the great Welsh antiquary. However it was not until the marriage of Robert Vaughan (b 1695) to Janet, third daughter and co-heir of Hugh Nanney Esq of Nannau, that the two estates were united. These Cups commemorate the family moving from Nannau to Hengwrt in 1788, which they had only recently recovered following a long lawsuit. Robert Vaughan, second son of Robert and Janet Vaughan of Nannau, who had succeeded to the estates following the death of his elder brother, proceeded to construct a new house in the Classical style at Nannau. Robert was created a baronet in 1791 and died in 1796, the year the new works at Nannau were completed. His son, Sir Robert Williams (d 1843 ) added side pavilions to the house in around 1805 to the designs of the architect Joseph Bromfield, however these were demolished in around 1970. Hengwrt was razed to the ground after a fire in 1962. We have been fortunate to find a portrait of Sir Robert Howell Vaughan, 1st Baronet, by William Parry together with photographs of Nannau and Hengwrt, where these cups would have been used. The potrtait is also in the collection of the National Museum of Wales.
In "The Historic Houses of Wales, Nannau, Merionethshire, schedule of contents, 1958 p8, co 32B" the 12 barrel shaped drinking cups are detailed in the drawing room showcase. These are without doubt the most important item of Hester Bateman silver currently on the market. These cups are rare to find by any silversmith, however especially rare by Hester Bateman.
Height: 4.5 inches, 11.25 cm.
Diameter at the widest point: 2.25 inches, 5.63 cm.
Weight 8.25 oz, the pair.
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