the circular body engraved all over with four scenes from 'the life of Bacchus', leaf-capped scroll handles, on a spreading foliate engraved circular foot, the cover engraved with four vignettes depicting birds upon a lake, a rucking stag and unicorn in a rocky ground, a coursing scene depicting hares among rampant dogs, and a putto and another figure hidden in trees looking over a creature bent double, within a border of tulips and floral sprays, cast acanthus bud finial, the underside engraved with a later coat-of-arms

Ex Martin Norton Collection

Marks to body engraved over, shape of punch only remains. Second mark to cover distorted, possibly and eagle. Otherwise very nice gauge with crisp engraving. Doubt as to when the engraving and gilding is executed compared to the body. Nice object.
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The arms are those of Bertie impaling Morse, for Peregrine Bertie of Lincoln's Inn, grandson of Charles Bertie of Uffington, Lincolnshire. He was married in 1736 to Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Payne of Tottenham Wick and heir to her uncle, John Morse, who died in 1739. The latter was a wealthy London goldsmith, sometime partner in the banking firm of Child's, who spared no expense in building his country seat, Woodperry House at Stanton St. John, Oxfordshire, which he ultimately abandoned in favour of Wooburn House, Buckinghamshire.

Elizabeth Bertie died in 1765, after which her husband placed a plaque in the church at Wooburn. Below their coat-of-arms (argent, three battering rams sable, impaling, argent, a battle axe gules between three pellets sable: the same as on the underside of this prඣesent silver-gi🎶lt cup), the inscription reads:

'To perpetuate the memory of Elizabeth, wife of Peregrine Bertie, esq. niece and heiress of John Morse, esq. and last of that family. Her husband has caused this monument to be erected as a token of his regard to her extraordinary virtues and manly [sic] sense, and of his most entire affection for one of the best of women, whom he always reflects on with the highest esteem, and hopes to meet in a state of everlasting happiness. Obiit 13 Martii 1765, aet. Suae 50.'¹

Peregrine Bertie died in 1777 leaving a surviving son and two daughter♏s. The son, General Albemarle Bertie (1744-1818), became the 9th Earl of Lindsey upon the death in 1809 of his kinsman, Brownlow, 5th Duke of Ancaster, Marquess of Linds🍰ey and 8th Earl of Lindsey. He was married twice, first in 1794 to Eliza Maria, daughter of William Clay and widow of Thomas Scrope of Coleby; and second in 1809 to Charlotte Susannah Elizabeth, eldest daughter of the Very Rev. Charles Peter Layard, Dean of Bristol.

According to the University of Toronto Libraries, British Armorial Bindings site, General Albemarle Bertie, 9th Earl of Lindsey, 'seems to have had armorial stamps added to the books he inherited from his grandfather Charles Bertie [of Uffington], many of which have the signature ''Charles Bertie'' in them. At any rate, the stamp which is usually attributed to Charles Bertie is in the style of the early nineteenth century, not that of the late seventeenth.'² A similar observation can be made about the engraving 💦of the coat-of-arms on the underside of this cup, which is not in the style of the 1740s, when Peregrine Bertie and Elizabeth Payne became man and wife, but in that of the early 19th century. The conclusion is that these arms were ordered to be engraved by Albemarle Bertie, Earl of Lindsey as a memorial to his parents, who may have owned the cup.

The cup, described as 'one small engraved Cup with handles,' appears to be included in a schedule or list of the Earl's plate which is included in his will, which was proved on 16 December 1818.³

The Bertie family♏ in the 16th and 17th centuries appears to be heavily aligned with the English and Dutch powers of the period. The porringer, with its fine engraving yet simplistic form combines the strengths of both Dutch and English craftsmen. This relationship begins with Peregrine Bertie, 13th Baron Willoughby de Eresby (1555-1601), who went on a diplomatic missi⛎on to Denmark in 1585 to obtain Danish help for England’s efforts on behalf of the independent Netherlands. Following this successful visit he moved across Europe through Hamburg, Emden and Amsterdam before serving as governor of Bergen-op-Zoom from March 1586. An able soldier, he was made general of the English forces in the same year before leading his army to victory at the Siege of Bergen and fighting for the Huguenots under Henry of Navarre.

His eldest son Robert, also known as Lord Willoughby and later 1st Earl of Lindsay was also a soldier and courtier, and along w💟ith his brother Peregrine, joined the Dutch army in 1611. An influential man, Robert was a godson of Elizabeth I and fought under Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange. During the Civil War Robert fought alongside his only s🥃on Montague, who had also served in battle previously in the Netherlands. Aged almost 60, Robert was appointed General-in-Chief of the Royalists at the battle of Edge Hill. His opposite number and commander of the Parliamentarian forces was Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, a man Bertie had served alongside in his time in the Netherlands. Following a difference in tactics with Prince Rupert, a fiery 23-year old veteran of the 30-years war, who was leading the calvary, Bertie was left outnumbered by Parliamentarian troops. He was shot in the shoulder and saved by his son who tackled the surrounding parliamentarian troops to divert his fatally injured father to respite. Robert died of his wounds that night and despite King Charles best efforts, Montague remained a prisoner of parliamentarians in Warwick Castle for almost a year afterwards, until July 1643.

Upon his release, Montague, now 2nd Earl of Lindsay, following consistant loyalty to the King, rose to Privy Counsellor and later Lieutenant-General of The Life Guards before the battle of Newbury. Although he remained a staunch Royalist, he constantly preached at reconciliation. Following the surrender of 🔥Oxford, Bertie attended the King throughout his trial and accompanied his body to it’s burial at Windsor following his execution. it was perhaps his reconciliatory stance which saved his life following the trial, and although he’s lost estates and money’s, he was able to retire into his private life during the 1650’s. After the Restoration he was re-appointed to the Privy Council and was made a knight of the garter in 1661. In the same year he officiated as Lord Great Chamberlain at the coronation of Charles II, one of his last major acts before his death in 1666.

Peregrine, whose arms we find engraved on this cup, would be Montague Bertie's great-grandson, anꦡd it is perhaps no surprise to find something of Dutch origins in his possession given the rich Anglo-Dutch history in the family. Although the marꦺks appear distorted and engraved over, the cup itself appears to date to circa 1700 when it could easily have been gifted or brought back to England by one of the Bertie family.

The four engraved vignettes to the body depict the birth and life of Dionysus (Bacchus), god of wine and son of Zeus and Semele. The first scene depicts Zeus's consort and wife, Hera, a goddess jealous of usurpers, disguised as an old women in discussioཧn with Semele, mother to Zeus's illegitimate child. Hera tells Semele that the father to the unborn is Zeus, in the knowledge that any mortal who sees him in his glory will perish. The second scene depicts Zeus, in godly form, aiming lightening bolts at Semele after her persistent requests that he revel himself are grudgingly accepted. Following her death, Zeus is forced, with Mercury's help, to sew the fetal form of Dionysus into his thigh, until his birth a few months later. This i𝄹s illustrated in the third scene. The fourth and final scene moves to Dionysus's childhood after he is kidnapped by pirates whilst on the island of Naxos. In revenge he causes ivy to grow among the masts of their ship and summons phantom shapes of wild beasts to appear on board, causing the men to throw themselves into the sea where they are transformed into dolphins.

With drinking in 17th/18th century Europe considered popular fashion, an engraved Bacchic scene is not unusual, yet, the four engraved vignettes to the cover of this cup appear slightly more cryptic. The first of ducks on a pond, and second, depicting hare coursing, do not immediately appear symbolically important. In the third, however, a stag can be seen in a woodland scene facing a rutting unicorn. Carl Jung traces this link to the 17th century Book of Lamspring (1625) upon which he comments,'In the body (the forest) there is Soul (the deer) and Spirit (the unicorn)... He that knows how to tame and master them by art, and to couple them together, may justly be called a master.' This combination of stag and unicorn, often paired supporting coats-of-arms, appears commonly in 17th century European art,  representing both purity and strength as well as the alchemical recipe for gold. The final vignette is perhaps the most interesting. It appears to show a cherub, possibly a young Bacchus, hiding in a tree overlooking a man bent double with his head between his legs. To the opposing side, in another tree lies a second f🔥igure, hidden within foliage. The strange contorted figure echoes the works of Hieronymus Bosch and his contemporaries, but also the 16th century engravings fromꦓ Virgil Solis, in which a monkey, similarly contorted, represents vanity and blindness.  

Notes

1. Thomas Langley, The History and Antiquities of the Hundred of Desborough, and Deanery of Wycombe, in Buckinghamshire, London, 1797, p. 459
2. //armorial.library.utoronto.ca/stamp-owners/BER008, accessed 30 August 2017; a part of the library of Montague Peregrine Albemarle Bertie, 12th Earl of Lindsey, was sold at Sotheby's, London on 23 July 1900.
3. National Archives, Kew, PROB 11/1611