Description

A good early English silver flat top lidded tankard in sterling silver with a scroll handle having a decorative thumb piece. Good patina. Large size. Lovely plain design and hand beaten silver. Uninscribed. Hand engraved at the top of the handle with owner’s initials; above the initials is the date “1777” in prick dots. Contains 1350 ml. Weight 905 grams, 29 troy ounces. Height 18.5 cms (to top of thumb piece). Spread 21 cms. Diameter 14 (top), 13.7 cms (base). Fully marked on lid and base, makers mark on the handle. London 1668. Makers mark AL*.

Literature: *It is unusual to have a makers name for a piece of silver of this early date as there are no precise records of silver makers’ marks prior to 1697. All records were destroyed in the fire at Goldsmiths Hall in 1681 when the Assay Office and apartments of the Assayer and Clerk in the south west wing of the building were burned down. From 1697 onwards Goldsmiths Hall has preserved a complete record of workmens’s marks, addresses, together with their names and the dates. Sometimes the details of makers can be discovered from old records such as the inventories of noble houses and other institutions.

Signed/Inscribed: London 1668. Makers mark AL*.