| INDEX | ALL SILVER |
| DESCRIPTION | Superb and scarce antique English Georgian solid sterling silver Hanoverian pattern salt shovel with an initial 'W' engraved verso. Marked only with maker's twice as no official hallmarks were required on items of this type at the time. |
| SILVERSMITH | Hester Bateman |
| DATE or HALLMARK | No date letter, it was not required for such items at the time but compare Hester's mark with that on my larger spoon m4683 of 1758/59
date letter 'C'. link to 1758 spoon. Please note that the table spoon has sold.
If you are curious why your reference book does not cover this mark; Our sources today are mainly taken from the 1863 publication of the work by William Chaffers, later enlarged by Wilfrid Cripps, Charles Jackson and Arthur Grimwade. Their primary reference sources were the registers at Goldsmiths Hall. From 1739 two simultaneous registers were kept, one for smallworkers and one for largeworkers. The distinction between these groups is blurred but their titles describe them well. The smallworkers book 1739-58 and the largeworkers book 1759-73 were both lost to fire in the early 19th century. These are the critical registers for the HB mark in question. Attributions for marks not found in the registers are found from other sources and conjecture. For example, there are many pieces still in their original collections and with their original receipts. Some silversmiths work is so distinctive that new marks can be deduced for known makers. Yes, some marks were not registered and other marks registered and similar to previously registered marks are not reproduced. The 1761 mark was considered to be her first mark because her husband (just a chainmaker) died the previous year. However, if this was the case then why is it not within a widow's lozenge as was the rule at the time? If it was a mark registered in her own right and before the death of John then it would not need to be within the lozenge. It is known that Hester began as a spoonmaker and so it is not surprising that all the early pieces with this mark are spoons. We are lucky that HB is an unusual combination of initials so few alternative silversmiths to consider. HB in script is unique. The tentative proposition by Jackson that the specialist pierced basket maker Henry Bayley took three years out to make Hanoverian spoons even though simultaneously in a successful basket making business holds no water. |
| ASSAY OFFICE | London |
| WEIGHT in GRAMS | 7 |
| LENGTH | 3 ¾", 94mm |
| SILVER STANDARD | ·925 sterling silver |
| CONDITION | excellent, the finest available to mankind today |
select any image to enlarge
| SOLD |
| Price £98 |
| item number m8130 |
| Available Salt Spoons |
| email questions to silfren@btinternet.com
telephone & text 07563 011924 experts available 24 hours every day |