These conical Scottish silver beakers are beautifully decorated with classical and foliate engravings. There are shields on both sides with one never having been
engraved and the other with the crest of an armored arm clutching a baton below a banner with the motto 'FORDWARD'.  Silver wire bands decorate and reinforce
the upper edge.
These two beakers bear the armorial badge for Balfour of Balfour. The Balfours are one of the ancient clans of Scotland. In 1831 the 3rd Laird was Capt. William
Balfour, R. N., who died in 1846 leaving the honors and estate to his son David Balfour.
In 1847, David Balfour, now the 4th Laird, began an ambitious building program at the family estate in the Orkney Islands. The family
seat, Cliffdale, was significantly enlarged and updated. Also, the grounds were redesigned and rebuilt. Balfour engaged noted Scottish architect David Bryce to design
and build a Victorian country house in the Scottish baronial style, where these beakers may have lived.
The result, Balfour Castle, is a 'calendar house' which included 7 turrets, 365 window sections and 12 doors to the outside, not to mention the 52 rooms. It is now a private club, see here.
These wonderful silver beakers are fully hallmarked. The latter was made by James & William Marshall. The maker's mark on the earlier one is partially rubbed and we have not been able to
identify it. They measures 4.25 inches high by 3.5 inches round at the top. They weigh 5.95 (earlier example) and 6.30 troy ounces and are in very good antique condition.
The original gilt interiors vary a little in tone, with the earlier being a slightly darker gold-gilt and the latter being a more yellowish color gilt.
Our Price: SOLD
Item code: E055
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