“To this day, a thin-edged horn is one of the pleasantest things from which to drink beer or cider…” wrote Gertrude Jekyll and Sydney Jones in their 1939 book Old English Household Life.
For centuries, the shape and dense structure of horn mugs, fashioned from the tapering section of a bullock’s horn, made them popular for use as drinking vessels even after the introduction of pewter and stoneware.
A collection of 19th century Welsh horn mugs, the largest measuring 4in (10cm) high, is priced at £325 from Tim Bowen Antiques in Carmarthenshire.
A vast collection of antique silver publications, covering a wide range of subjects from hallmarks and makers to design, has been consigned to Somerset saleroom Lawrences.
The 220-lot group, which will go under the hammer in a silver sale on January 15 in Crewkerne, comes from a long-standing academic and silver collector who has been active in the field for 60 years.
Estimates range from £30-50 to around £300 for rarer types, including L’Orfèvrerie française aux XVIII et XIXe siècles, a three-volume tome on French gold and silversmith’s work by Henri Bouilhet.
