A George II sterling silver-gilt twin handled cup and cover, London 1734 by Edward Pocock (reg. 11th Dec 1728)

The body of inverted bell form raised on a single circular stepped pedestal foot with moulded bands, the centre body with a girdle. The twin C scroll handles with leaf form scrolled thumbpieces, the removable lid of ogee stepped form with moulded bands, surmounted by a circular compressed and knop and ball finial. The body engraved with a contemporaneous coat of arms within foliate mantling and reserved within in scale work, surmounted by a splayed shell, the mantling with two lions couchant guardant, the base with a devil mask. The lid engraved with a crest of a lion’s gamb erased holding a sceptre headed with a crescent. Fully marked underneath and the lid marks with the maker’s mark only four times to flange.

Height – 27 cm / 10.75 inches

Length – 25 cm / 10 inches

Total Weight – 1464 grams / 47.0.7 ozt

Edward Pocock first entered a mark in partnership with Hugh Arnett on the 15th Feb 1720, his third mark is him alone in 1728 registered at Foster Lane. The term ‘duty dodgers’ is applied to pieces that were not sent for assay during the period 1720-58 whereby a steep tax was placed on silverware. Silversmiths had a variety of methods of escaping this tax which may involve transposing marks from small articles to large or by overstriking on marks cut out of much older pieces. The present example where by the makers mark is struck four times over in various directions to simulate the four marks required for assay at the time is the most innocuous of the methods deployed by duty dodgers and is found on multiple pieces by Paul de Lamerie who was known as a regular participant in tax dodging.

A similar gilt cup and cover of 1720 by James Fraillon was sold Christie’s London, 22 Nov 2000, lot 172 (£3,055 incl. premium)