DESCRIPTION |
Very interesting Georgian silver 3/4 imperial pint tapering mug with an 'S' scroll handle and a fascinating skirted base that has not been seen before. The base rim has eight evenly spaced pin holes, four of which still contain cut down pins. The purpose of the pins was mysterious until the shape of the base skirt and the degree of finish to the underside were considered. The base skirt is unusually formed without concave turnings. This would enable a base to be fitted within the silver skirt and held in place by the pins. It is easy to imagine a nice piece of turned English oak being employed. The underside of the silver base would then be covered and this would explain the rather less than fussy finishing. There are three Georgian initials engraved to the handle and a later Victorian monogram engraved to the front. A probably unique piece of Georgian English silver by a leading silversmith | ||
| SILVERSMITH |
Hester Bateman over struck by George Gray. His GG mark is invariably found over striking that of Hester Bateman and later that of Peter and Ann. It appears that he was principally a manufacturer of jewellery and a retailer of small silver bought in from the Batemans. The scrolling script 'B' of Hester's mark can be seen within the second 'G' and cannot be the mark of anyone else at this date. We are fully guaranteeing that this piece is by Hester Bateman. | ||
| DATE or HALLMARK |
1782 | ||
| ASSAY OFFICE or COUNTRY |
London | ||
WEIGHT in GRAMS |
312 | ||
| SIZE in INCHES |
height: 5 |
width: 4 3/4 |
|
| SILVER STANDARD if applicable |
.925 sterling silver | ||
| OVERALL CONDITION |
The silver is of a good gauge but has several issues, see below. None of these issues are beyond the scope of our silversmith, although a complete handle rebuild would be moderately expensive. | ||
| MAJOR FAULTS |
none | ||
MINOR FAULTS |
Several little bumps and dings, all easy to repair. Clearly this mug has experienced a fall that dislodged the bottom handle mount and was likely to have caused the wooded base to break or fall out. The repair to the handle's bottom joint is a little crude and there is a limited amount of internal intrusion. The thumb piece has been squashed flat and next to the engraved initials is a significant bump. | ||
|
Price £395 |
SOLD |
BACK | Item Number: M1628 |
