Fine pieces of silver....

With many dealers specialising in fine antique silver, Grays is the perfect place for avid collectors to expand their collections with unusual and rare objects. A few of those rare pieces were shown on last night's episode of Channel 4's Get Your House in Order. A programme where shopaholics cash in some of their valuables to pay for a household makeover. One of the items that was shown is this silver tankard made by Hester Bateman.


This fine Georgian lidded tankard is a rare example of Hester Bateman silver. Hester Bateman was dubbed 'the Queen of English Silver', and a prolific silversmith in the late 18th century. Hester Bateman silver is highly prized by collectors who are fascinated by the novelty of a female silversmith. This example was made in London 1783 and is a very fine example of a Georgian silver tankard. For more information contact James Baldwin - www.jamesbaldwinantiques.com


A Hester Bateman silver tankard from James Baldwin shown on Get Your House in Order


Another item that was shown on Get Your House in Order is this silver gilt copy of the Cellini Salt. This part-enameled gold table sculpture was designed by Benvenuto Cellini. It was completed in 1543 for Francis I of France, from models that had been prepared many years earlier for Cardinal Ippolito d’Este.

It came into the possession of the Habsburgs as a gift by Charles IX of France to Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol. It was originally part of the Habsburg art collection at Castle Ambras, but was transferred to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna during the 19th century.

The salt cellar is sometimes referred to as the 'Mona Lisa of Sculpture' and was created in the style of the late Renaissance. It allegorically portrays Terra e Mare in Cellini’s description in his Autobiography, allegorised as Neptune, god of the sea, and Ceres, goddess of the earth, symbolizing their unity in producing salt mined from the earth.

For more information contact Peter Szuhay - www.peterszuhay.com


Silver gilt copy of the Cellini Salt from Peter Szuhay shown on Get Your House in Order 
 


Grays Antiques on Channel 4's Get Your House in Order.



TV presenter and antiques and artefacts dealer Nick Allen.



Grays dealer Joseph Cohen is negatioting on a silver item 
with collector Barry Phillips and Nick Allen.

Visit www.graysantiques.com for more information about antique silverware.

Comments

  1. Great article! If anyone wants to look at the Hester Bateman tankard in more detail it can be found here:

    http://www.jamesbaldwinantiques.com/stock.php?ProductID=318&ProductName=A+Hester+Bateman+silver+tankard+made+in+the+Georgian+period

    ReplyDelete

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