Description

A rare and very charming early English silver flat lidded tankard. Britannia standard silver*. Lovely plain design and hand beaten silver. The tankard has a simple flat sided form, with one coopered band to the body, and an S scroll handle finishing in a decorative thumb piece. Uninscribed. The handle has engraved owners initials. Good patina.

Contains 1000 ml.

Weight 838 grams, 26.9 troy ounces.

Height 18.3cm (to top of thumb piece). Diameter 11.2cm (top), 9.7 cms (base).

London 1707. Maker Seth Lofthouse.

Literature: *Britannia Standard. In 1696, so extensive had become the melting and clipping of coinage that the silversmiths were forbidden to use the sterling standard for their wares, but had to use a new higher standard, 95.8 per cent. New hallmarks were ordered, “the figure of a woman commonly called Britannia” and the lion’s head erased (torn off at the neck) replacing the lion passant and the leopard’s head crowned. This continued until the old standard of 92.5 per cent was restored in 1720. Britannia standard silver still continues to be produced even today.

This excellent tankard is in very good. Stamped with a fully matching and clear set of silver marks to the body and lid, handle with maker's mark. A nice feature are the tell-tale dents on top of the handle where the thumb piece has been touching for over 300 years. Please note that this item is not new and will show moderate signs of wear commensurate with age. Reflections in the photograph may detract from the true representation of this item.

Maker: Seth Lofthouse

Seth Lofthouse, London silversmith, elder brother of Matthew Lofthouse, apprenticed to William Wakefield of the Merchant Taylor’s Company 1676. Freedom not recorded. Mark entered as largeworker in 1699. William Bellasis apprenticed to him in 1709. Listed as dead in the Haberdashers’ Company records of 1727.

Customer satisfaction is our primary concern

All silverware on our website is checked thoroughly prior to offering it for sale and every product listing contains a condition report and details of the silver hallmarks.

All items offered on our website include:

• Free Shipping Worldwide
• Tracked and Insured
• 14 day no quibble money back guarantee
• We are accredited members of LAPADA and conform to their strict professional standards
• We dispatch 1-3 days after receiving cleared payments

More detailed information about deliveries, returns and how to pay is available in the Help section at the bottom of this page.