The silver-gilt goblet is in the collection of Royal Plate at Windsor Castle and was made in 1814 for the Prince Regent. Deeply engraved on the base are the words Galvanic Goblet implying that it was gilded by electroplating. Successful electrodeposition was not achieved until about 1840 and Hunt describes in detail the early history of electroplating. Scientific examination of the goblet was carried out at the British Museum Research Laboratory and it was found to be mercury gilded. It appears that the original silver goblet might initially have been used to attempt electrodeposited gold on this Royal silverware, but work may have been unsuccessful; it was, therefore, subsequently gilded by the well-known fire gilding technique. For more information on electroplating, see also AATA 13-572. -- AATA