Description

A Victorian silver and champlevé enamelled suite of comports
Elkington and Company, Birmingham 1879
comprising: a two tiered comport and two smaller comports, each with circular domed bases with shaped scalloped frieze and raised on three claw feet, the central urn finial surrounded by three scrolled supports with star terminals, with open work shallow beaded rim supports for etched glass with lobed raised rim, the principal comport with two further slender supports with rope twist border and acanthus pendant drops, the finial formed as an Arabic dancing girl with cymbals, the whole with gilt-highlighted borders and with arabesque borders and pendants in blue, deep red and black enamels (3)
Comports 57cm high and 24cm high
Note:
This service represents an early development of Elkington’s oeuvre. They exhibited a thirteen piece dessert service of similar design in the 1862 Exhibition in London. It was described by J. B. Waring as “Remarkable for unusual elegance of taste in design, a judicious combination of coloured enamels with silver and a degree of artistic finish which are not too often found even in the best works of this class”. The designer, W Albert Willms was head of Elkington’s design studio from 1855 until 1899. He was awarded a medal for artistic merit at the 1862 exhibition.