Old English Gold Plate. By E. Alfred .Tones. (Bemrose and
Sons. 21s. net.)—Gold-plate proper, as distinguished from silver- gilt, which is often confounded with it, is a rare thing, much rarer than it was five or six centuries ago. The common cause of its disappearance has been, of course, the financial difficulties of Kings. The French wars of Edward III., for instance, were partly paid for in this way, and that by the sale of ecclesiastical vessels. Then Henry VIII. and his officials disposed of much. From Lincoln Cathedral alone he obtained 2,621 ounces. The one pre- Reformation ecclesiastical article that exists is at Corpus Christi, Oxford, a chalice and paten presented by the founder, Bishop Foxe, in 1501-9. How it escaped the requisitions of King Charles no one knows. The result is that there are but forty pieces in all for Mr. Jones to describe, fourteen belonging to Royalty, Colleges, and Corporations, and twenty-six to private Owners, the Dukes of Norfolk, Portland, and Devonshire having three each, and Lord and Lady Yarborough four.
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