A James II sterling silver half quart tankard, London 1686 by Dorothy Grant (free. 1676, died c. 1712)

Of tapering cylindrical form with moulded rims, the C section handle with a squared-off terminal leading to a flat top domed lid with shaped overhanging edge incised with concentric circles, raised by a sand cast ‘corkscrew’ finial. The top of handle with contemporaneous prick dot engraved initials M over W * M between stylised quatrefoils. The front later engraved with a 19^th century crest of a lion rampant supporting a spear erect. Later gilt interior. Fully marked to left of handle and to top of lid, the underside later scratched 1686.

Height – 14.25 cm / 5.6 inches

Weight – 469 grams / 15.08 ozt

Provenance:

Collection of Anthony Aston Smith (1929-2010), bought from Sotheby’s 2 May 1963, £75

formerly the property of Mrs Mary Dent-Brocklehurst (d.1969) of Sudley Castle, widow of Major John Henry Dent-Brocklehurst (d.1949) who had inherited the estate of Sudley Csastle from his father Harry in 1932, due to death duties land from the 12,000 estate was required to be sold off.

Dorothy Grant was the widow of William Grant (free 1666 d. 1676), where upon her husbands death took over the workshop with the help of her late husbands apprentices Edward Whinyard and Moses Greenaway, who became free in 1677 and 1681 respectively. In 1679 she took on her brother-in-law Thomas Grant as an apprentice, as well as her two sons Benjamin and William, in 1686 and 1691 respectively. She registered a Britannia standard mark in April 1697. The fact that Dorothy Grant continued her husband’s business for thirty-six years and bound a total of five apprentices is very unusual and testament to a successfully run business. (Mitchell, D., Silversmiths in Elizabethan and Stuart London: their lives and their marks, (2017)., Woodbridge: Boydell Press, p.273).

A tankard of 1679 (Fogg Museum)

A tankard of 1680 (south Kensington museum, Jackson 1921)

A tankard of 1681 (Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields)

A pair of tankards of 1683, Christie’s London 1 Dec 2004, lot 718 (£22,705 incl. premium)

A tankard of 1686, sold Sotheby’s New York 22 Oct 2002, lot 613 ($10,755 incl. premium)

A pair of Chinoiserie mugs of 1689, Christie’s South Kensington, 9 March 2010, Lot 120 (£3,250 incl. premium)

A twin handled porringer of 1693, sold Christie’s South Kensington, 16 June 2005, Lot 823 (£2,160 incl. premium)

A tankard of 1691, sold Bonham’s Knightsbridge 20 Feb 2013, lot 204 (£4,125 incl. premium)

A spoon of 1691 (Jackson 1989)

A beaker of 1691 (private collection)