Burnell and Rowe

Description

Here we have a fabulous Pair of George III Sterling Silver Table Salts with hand blown Ruby Glass Liners.The salts are oval with a pierced gallery and stand on four claw and ball feet. The cartouche on each salt is elegantly engraved with the letters A J W.

The salts were made in London by legendary silversmith Hester Bateman and date to 1777. The Bateman Family dominated silver production in London during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, particularly in flatware. The business was driven by Hester Bateman who after being widowed in 1760 turned her husband’s insignificant silver firm into a hugely successful company. Several generations of her family succeeded Hester and carried on the business into the 1840s.

Condition is very good, with no significant salt corrosion and just the superficial surface wear that has to be expected after nearly 250 years of use. There are no chips or cracks in the glass liners, just the odd bubble that is inevitable in hand blown glass of this period. Please make sure to view all the photographs.

Each oval salt is 7.8cm / 3ins by 6.4cm / 2.5ins and stands 5.1cm / 2ins high. Without the glass liners, the pair weighs in at a very respectable 99.9g / 3.52oz / 3.21toz of solid Sterling Silver and all together they weigh 282.2g / 9.95oz.

The hallmarks, on the undersides of the bases, are a little rubbed but still okay to read. They show the lion passant for Sterling Silver, the crowned leopard's head assay mark for London, the date letter b for 1777 and the distinctive cursive H B makers' mark for Hester Bateman.

Shipping in the UK is £12.50 by Royal Mail Special Delivery, which includes cover for the value of the salts.
Overseas customers, please ask us about shipping costs to your country before making a purchase.