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DESCRIPTION Georgian cast silver sugar tongs with pierced arms, a wide bow with the original initial engraving and decorated five lobe grips.
SILVERSMITH Stephen Adams I
DATE or HALLMARK circa 1774
ASSAY OFFICE London
WEIGHT in GRAMS 46
LENGTH in INCHES 5 ½
SILVER STANDARD .925 sterling silver
OVERALL CONDITION excellent, with perfect bow spring action and well executed very slight arm repairs/fractures and a larger repair to one arm/grip junction.
FAULTS 18th century cast silver fractures easily and so was not the ideal choice for the making of sugar tongs. This is probably why, having only just displaced from fashion the cast silver sugar nips by around 1770, they were themselves superseded by the far more robust one piece with sprung bow type by around 1780. It very rare to find cast arm tongs without repairs or fractures.
back £75 sold item number: m4853