Tiffany & Co Loving Cup

I just discovered a silver piece my (deceased) mother had stuck away. She was always thrift shopping, but it looks like she may have discovered something pretty neat in this. It’s a 7" tall loving cup with about 4" diameter mouth and base. It has a floral twining pattern running around the the top of the cup underneath a rope accented lip. There is a 1.25" ribbon band around the center with a leaf accent pattern. Both sides have a large, plain oval (for inscribing?) surrounded by an ornate leaf and scroll. The base has kind of a flattened fleur de lis pattern and roped edge. The stem of the base has a large beaded collar. On the base it says: Tiffany and Co. / 9886/ G eng.sterling G / 925 2000 / 22 / 550 Broadway NY. I hope I read all that correctly, it’s pretty small! I’d love to know something about what this might be, it’s age and origin, if possible. Thank you all for any help you can extend.

Hi there and thanks for joining us. Your little cup was made my Tiffany & Co. located at 550 Broadway, New York probably between 1854 and 1870 based on the marks you describe. The “eng. sterling” stands for English Sterling which is the purity of the silver, 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. The purity is repeated in the mark with the figures “925/1000” (not 2000) that stand for the same purity. The other numbers are the pattern (model) number and the order number. What you describe as as "G"s may be old english "M"s?

I base the date estimate of pre-1875 on the fact that the mark does not contain the word “Maker” which was introduced on Tiffany goods after that date, and also the words “eng. silver” whcih do not seem to appear after that date. A clear, close-up photograph of the mark would be helpful in confirming the date it was made. A very complete treatise on Tiffany silver is “Tiffany Silver” by Charles and Mary Grace Carpenter.

Your Mom left you a very nice gift.

Regards,

Uncle Vic

Wow! Thanks, Uncle Vic … It’s absolutely fascinating to think this may have been made back when my grandmother was just entering the world! I really appreciate your time and interest.