ARGENTINA: A priceless tea "cup" from Argentina will be among wedding presents received by Prince William and Kate Middleton this week

Record ID: 247171

  • Title: ARGENTINA: A priceless tea "cup" from Argentina will be among wedding presents received by Prince William and Kate Middleton this week
  • Date: 27th April 2011
  • Summary: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (APRIL 26, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF WORKSHOP OF THE ARGENTINE SILVERSMITH MARCELO TOLEDO TOLEDO SPEAKING ON PHONE TO LOCAL MEDIA VARIOUS OF MATÉ DRINKING VESSEL, SIMILAR TO THE ONE TOLEDO SENT AS A WEDDING PRESENT TO PRINCE WILLIAM AND KATE MIDDLETON VARIOUS OF TOLEDO CRAFTING SILVER LEAF (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ARGENTINE SILVERSM
  • Embargoed: 12th May 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Argentina, Argentina
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: Royalty,Royalty
  • Reuters ID: LVA263OES7VU0EWD60JO9524Z97B
  • Story Text: It is hard to know what to give a royal couple as a wedding present.
    But one gift to Prince William and Kate Middleton from a famous Argentine silversmith is probably among the most unusual.
    The present is a silver maté [Pronounced: MAA-TAY] - a vessel used to drink a local tea called yerba maté - and is decorated with wine motifs.
    Marcelo Toledo says it was a gift he sent personally to the royal couple as a kind of peace offering between Argentina and Britain, which fought a war over the Falkland Islands in 1982.
    It took 12 days to handcraft and arrived on Tuesday (April 26) in London.
    "I thought that it was a way to bring together two countries which historically haven't gotten along too well, especially with England. So this was a way of pushing aside these issues. I'm not interested in the politics, this is a purely artistic work - an honor, a homage that poured out of my hands," Toledo said.
    Toledo, who made his name internationally with designs inspired by Argentina's famous first lady "Evita," has already crafted similar gifts for royalty and celebrities.
    His works - usually made on commission - have been given in the past to the Spanish royal family, the U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush and Barack Obama and Pope John Paul II.
    Members of the British Royal family have also received his pieces on numerous occasions, among them Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth.
    "I didn't want to miss out on this occasion to continue along with the royal line so that this new couple would have a piece similar to the ones their father or their grandmother have," Toledo said.
    Now while the British are known for their fondness of tea, yerba maté is not so well known.
    It is drunk only in some parts of South America, packed in as loose leaves into the maté vessel and sipped on with a metal straw.
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