A silver, vermeil and cut crystal ewer by Charles Edwards London 1900

Engraved crystal ewer with silver and silver plated frame. The crystal is engraved with floral motifs in intaglio, in the manner of rock crystal. The crystal is set in a silver and vermeil frame with interlacing, cartouches and openwork scrolls on the body of the ewer. The engraving probably made by Stevens and Williams.
English silver hallmarks
Master silversmith: Charles Edwards.
Letter date: D and E.London 1899-1900
H: 13.77in. (35 cm).
The silver mounting bears a dedication, in English, engraved on a coat of arms, located under the handle: To Alfonso Gandolfi Hornyold, on behalf of his grandparents, on his 21st birthday, june 20 1900.
Stevens and Williams, located in Stourbridge, England, was an important centre of glass manufacturing and was renowned for the quality of its engravings from the end of the eighteenth century until the middle of the twentieth century, from John Northwood to Frederick Carter, to name only the most famous. Alfonso Gandolfi-Hornyold's grandfather was a wealthy merchant, specialising in the silk trade, whose family, of Italian origin, had been in England since the 18th century and was allied by marriage to the Hornyolds, who can be traced back to 1068.