As a gift from Carl Eduard, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1884-1954), to a member of the British Thompson family, this wine jug is an extremely lavishly designed Victorian English sterling silver piece. It features a curved, profiled foot that transitions into a short shaft and a strongly bulging corpus. The narrow neck ends in a high-poured spout. The gracefully curved, bombé lid is adorned with a pierced knob above a floral relief. The voluted ear handle has a mechanism for opening the lid. The base and body of the jug are extensively decorated with festoons of flowers, flower calyx, volutes, and rocaille motifs, as well as shell and foliage work and masks over a punched ground. On the front is a cartouche framed by acanthus leaves, with the engraved coat of arms of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha with the motto band "Treue und Beständig" (Loyalty and Perseverance), and the so-called crest of the Thompson family with the motto band "Dum spiro spero" (While I breathe, I hope). Model number 6193. Gilt interior. Marked, hallmarked, and with maker's marks. Weight approximately 985g. Height 32cm. Carl Eduard was the grandson of Queen Victoria of Great Britain (1837-1901) and was born as the Duke of Albany and Prince of Great Britain and Ireland in the English county of Surrey. In 1899, he left England and moved to Germany, where he became the Duke of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1900 and assumed regency over the duchy in 1905. This wine jug was made in 1886 by Martin, Hall & Co (Richard Martin & Ebenezer Hall) in London.