An exceptional and rare matched pair of Rococo Revival silver-gilt mounted claret jugs by the celebrated New York silversmiths Howard & Company, established 1866, of 264 Fifth Avenue, New York.

Each jug features a generously proportioned pear-shaped body of fine clear glass, elaborately decorated overall with deeply etched and relief-moulded foliate decoration, depicting swirling acanthus leaves and flowering branches in the naturalistic taste of the period. The glass bodies are mounted with richly cast and chased silver-gilt collars, applied with delicate floral garlands and foliate motifs in high relief. Rising from each collar is a dramatically upswept helmet-form spout, the hinged domed cover surmounted by a cast floral bud finial. Each jug is fitted with a tall, boldly scrolling acanthus-cast handle, the scrollwork terminating in further foliate detail — the whole of exceptional sculptural quality and considerable weight.

The interiors are fully gilded, consistent with the finest American silver of the Gilded Age. Marked on the mounts: HOWARD & CO / NEW YORK / STERLING.

Howard & Company were among the foremost jewelers and silversmiths of late nineteenth-century America, patronised by the wealthiest families of the Gilded Age and maintaining, at their height, premises in New York, Newport, and London. Their silver is characterised by its great weight, technical refinement, and consistently high standard of design and execution. Pairs of claret jugs of this elaborateness and quality are rare survivals from the period.

Condition: Both jugs in original, unrestored condition. The silver-gilt mounts retain their original gilding throughout, with only light surface wear consistent with age and careful use — an increasingly rare quality in pieces of this period. The glass bodies are free from chips or cracks. Overall a remarkably fresh and honest example, unspoiled by later restoration or re-gilding.