Elkington gilt-copper electrotype tankard, £850 at Lyon & Turnbull.
The underside is inscribed From the original ivory in the possession of Henry Bedford Esqr, executed by Elkington Mason & Co.
Financed by the steel pen magnate Josiah Mason, cousins George Richards Elkington and Henry Elkington, formed a relationship with the South Kensington Museum in the 1860s to produce these facsimile copies of artefacts for educational purposes using the new technology of electricity.
The Bedford tankard was the third project between the South Kensington Museum and Elkington & Co and the only example where the name of the owner was credited on the piece. Versions made in copper cost £7 7s with those in gilt or parcel gilt priced at £10 10s.
The inscription to the base of the Elkington gilt-copper electrotype tankard that sold at Lyon & Turnbull.
This silver gilt example was estimated at £800-1200 at the Silver, Coins & Objets de Vertu sale at Lyon & Turnbull (26% buyer’s premium) in Edinburgh on March 7 and sold at £850.
