Victorian silver goblet with swallow engraving

Late Victorian silver goblet decorated around the bowl and base with hand-chased floral work and foliage. The bowl is also decorated with a finely detailed, hand-engraved image of a swallow or swift.

With its flat base, thin stem and conical bowl, the basic goblet shape has remained almost entirely unchanged in its form for centuries.

In the mid-fifteenth century the gentry owned goblets crafted in silver. Superstitious drinkers in the seventeenth century believed that precious metals promoted better health, and so the demand for silver goblets increased. The arrival of silver plate in the mid 1800s meant that more people could afford to introduce a bit of luxury into their lifestyle.