HESTER BATEMAN (1708-1794)

Outstanding Woman Silversmith of the 1700's

Widowed in 1760, by 1761 (apparently illiterate and with 5 children) she took over the family business and she registered her first personal mark as silversmith. For nearly 30 years she developed & guided a thriving enterprise, serving a rising fashionable class with the latest styles, made in the latest techniques.


HESTER BATEMAN (1708-1794) : A Fine Large & Heavy Table Spoon, Sterling, London, 1776

Maker's Mark : "HB" cursive mark # 960 (Grimwade), Hester Bateman's specialized mark as spoonmaker entered 5 June 1776.

Hallmarks : distinct, complete & well- struck, including monarch's head (George III), lion passant, crowned leopard head, date mark lower case "a" .

Length : 8-5/8"
Weight : 2.16 troy ounces

Oval handle, back-arched, with fin & elongated prominant drop; deep bright-cut wavy border decoration flanks a row of minute dots; ultra faint traces only of an erased monogram

# bntt 22001 .....................................................SOLD