London, 1785 - Little Ewer In Sterling Silver By Hester Bateman

Refined neoclassical little ewer in sterling silver.
The piece displays an elegant decoration of beaded borders accentuating the lip and the circular foot, enhanced with finely engraved interlaced friezes.
The body is beautifully engraved with garlands of flowers and foliage, medallions and scrolls framing a central vacant cartouche surmounted by a tied ribbon. The upper section is finished with a foliate calyx.
The ewer rests on a circular foot standing on a square base delicately engraved with ornamental details.

• Lion passant – sterling silver standard mark (925/1000)
• Date letter “k” – for the year 1785
• Crowned leopard’s head – mark of the London assay office
• Duty mark – head of King George III
• Hester BATEMAN – maker’s mark registered between 1778 and 1790

• Height: 16.8 cm
• Width: 12.2 cm
• Depth: 6 cm

118 g

Excellent condition. Beautiful surface with superb original brightness.

Hester BATEMAN is regarded as the most celebrated English silversmith of the eighteenth century. Active in London between 1761 and 1790, she managed a prolific workshop renowned for the finesse and lightness of her neoclassical designs.
Her work is distinguished by the refined use of bright-cut engraving, beaded borders and elegant interlaced ornamentation, combining technical precision with timeless grace.

Through her exceptional skill and sense of proportion, Hester BATEMAN became a leading figure in Georgian silver at a time when the craft was almost exclusively male. Her children, notably Peter and Ann BATEMAN, continued the family workshop into the early nineteenth century.

Comparable examples of this model by Hester BATEMAN are preserved in the world’s most prestigious museum collections, including:

• VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM, London – comparable ewer
• METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, New York – comparable ewer
• NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS, Washington – comparable ewer
• HARVARD ART MUSEUMS, Cambridge – comparable ewer
• BIRMINGHAM MUSEUM OF ART, Birmingham – comparable ewer
• HOUSE OF FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, New York – teapot by Hester BATEMAN owned by Eleanor Roosevelt
• NELSON-ATKINS MUSEUM OF ART, Kansas City – four comparable ewers
• MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, Boston – almost identical ewer
• COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG, Virginia – comparable ewer
• BROOKLYN MUSEUM, New York – comparable ewer
• NATIONAL GALLERIES OF SCOTLAND, Edinburgh – comparable ewer
• NATIONAL GALLERY OF VICTORIA, Melbourne – comparable ewer
• ART GALLERY OF GREATER VICTORIA, Canada – comparable ewer
• CINCINNATI ART MUSEUM, Ohio – comparable ewer
• BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART, Maryland – comparable ewer
• KAMM TEAPOT FOUNDATION, United States – comparable ewer