George Nathan & Ridley Hayes – Arts and Crafts Silver-Gilt Chalice
£1,000
By George Nathan & Ridley Hayes, a silver gilt chalice aligned to the Arts and Crafts movement (1880–1910), c.1910. Nathan & Hayes registered their GN over RH sponsor’s mark at Chester in 1897 and worked widely in domestic and ecclesiastical silver, with Chester as one of their preferred assay offices in the period.
The form is a compact medieval revival cup: a deep circular bowl above a short stem and a broad lobed foot, the junction encircled by a cast beaded arcade. The lobes are formed as raised bosswork (not planished), either repoussé from the inner skin or as applied cast bosses, then gilded. The full Chester hallmark group appears to the rim, maker GN/RH, lion passant for sterling, Chester town mark, and a date letter for 1910, corresponding to the 1901–25 date letter cycle.
Liturgical chalices are traditionally silver gilt so that a noble, inert metal holds the wine and the gold surface provides both purity and a warm visual tone. This practice runs from the Middle Ages through the early twentieth century.
Diameter: 5.71 in (14.5 cm)
