Due to the highly decorative appearance of this silver-gilt pot, this would have likely been made for display or used interchangeably for coffee or hot water to serve distinguished guests. The pot’s design features motifs typical of the Gothic Revival style and bears George IV’s cypher, suggesting that the pot was a special commission or royal gift. Its maker, Thomas Wimbush (1805-1869), entered his mark as an independent goldsmith in November 1828 and is thought to have produced his finest pieces in this first phase of his career. Wimbush has employed gothic architectural features such as pointed arches and pillars to compose the pot’s dodecagonal form, while the protruding lower body is embossed and applied with panels of quatrefoil tracery in alternating patterns. The finely cast winged dragon which forms the handle closely resembles drawings by the English architect, designer and leading figure in the Gothic revival, Augustus Welby Pugin (1812-1852).
