Important Silversmiths - Cooke & Kelvey
The company was founded in Calcutta by Thomas Cooke and Charles Kelvey and retailed silver, diamonds, pearls and clocks. Cooke and Kevey were in fact known as jewellers, gold and silversmiths and watchmakers.
According to the Cyclopedia of India (The Cyclopedia of India: Biographical, Historical, Administrative, Commercial, Volume 1, 1907) Cooke and Kelvey were contractors to the Local Government and retailed silver for Royals, Indian princes and nobility and Western aristocrats. Thanks to their growing success, in 1896 they opened a second branch at The Mall, Simla, in 1896.
19th Century Indian silver tea set, comprising of teapot, sugar bowl and cream jug. Stunning three-piece tea set decorated with stylised Indian deities in oval cartouche reserves, surrounded with Madras style leaf boarders, bead boarders and realistically modelled cobra handles. Each piece stands on four cast feet, modelled as lion’s paws and the teapot spout is a realistically crafted as an elephant’s head and trunk, the trunk naturalistically raised and mounted with well-formed tusks to either side.
Each piece of this set is stamped to the base with a mark for Cooke & Kelvey (Robert Thomas Cooke and Charles Kelvey, 1859-present).
Reference Number: A5673
They mostly designed silver plates and items for state occasions such as silver jugs, trays, caskets, cups and state chairs: ‘their splendid display of solid silver, testimonial plates, electroplate, clocks, watches, etc. stands unrivalled’ (The Cyclopedia of India: Biographical, Historical, Administrative, Commercial, Volume 1, 1907).
The company is still active nowadays, and the head office is still based at the same address where it was registered for the first time (20 Old Court House, Calcutta).