Presentation cradle

item details

NamePresentation cradle

ProductionJohn Hislop; silversmith; 1868; Dunedin

Classificationcradles, silverware

Materialssterling silver

DimensionsOverall: 95mm (width), 128mm (height), 210mm (length)

Registration NumberGH011293

Credit linePurchased 2005

Overview

This beautiful silver presentation cradle was made by John Hislop of Dunedin in 1868, and is decorated with floral and scroll engraving.

Presentation cradles

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries it was customary to gift a miniature silver cradle to a member of Parliament or a member of a local body organisation if they had a child while in office. This example is inscribed with the message 'PRESENTED, TO Mrs Robert Finlay, MAYORESS OF ALEXANDRA BY THE CITIZENS. OTAGO, N.Z. 1868.' The Daily Southern Cross reported on the presentation of the cradle, and noted that it was given ‘in commemoration of [Mrs Finlay] having presented her lord with twins in the third year of his Mayoralty.’

John Hislop

Born in Liverpool in 1832, John Hislop arrived in Otago during the gold rush of the early 1860s and established a jewellery and watchmaking business in Dunedin. He gained a reputation for excellence and enjoyed a long career in the city. In 1886 Hislop sent a scent bottle and paper knife to Queen Victoria, and thereafter displayed a framed letter written on behalf of Her Majesty on his shop counter. He died in his store in October, 1900.

References

Cyclopedia Company Limited. 1905. The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Otago and Southland Provincial Districts]. Christchurch: The Cyclopedia Company Ltd. http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Cyc04Cycl-t1-body1-d2-d47-d44.html
Shepherd, Winsome. 1995. Gold & Silversmithing in Nineteenth & Twentieth Century New Zealand. Wellington: The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.