Any information about maker, country, age of this cup would be very welcomed and thank you in advance. I picked up this 4.25" tall cup at auction in a rural auction house Southwest of London last month. I am not able to ascribe this piece, but suspect South America is a candidate. Most notably, the cup is extremely heavy weighing 538 grams. It has an unusual triple wall construction. The cup has in the front a main medallion with a stippled background and two boughs with flowers and berries. There are birds feeding on the berries. There is also a gold applique of a man with a top knot and a necklace. The cup is circled by a row of vines or leaves at the foot and rim. Finally, the handle is fixed to two solid heavy hemi-spheres and is a strap handle with one terminal in the form of a snake. In front of this is a standing figure, arms crossed standing both feet on a heavy solid sphere.
The piece is marked twice. The first mark, in an oval cartouche, is at the bottom of the strap handle and may have been struck with a broken die. It is difficult to read. The second mark, near the head of the snake seems to be R.J in a rectangular cartouche.
