Coffee Biggin, 1768 Thomas Heming

We are offering a beautiful Georgian silver coffee pot on original stand that was made by the silversmith to the King. The baluster-shaped coffee pot has a wicker bound handle to protect the user from the heat. The 4-legged stand has a removable spirit burner with wick to the centre, the heat from which would keep the coffee hot ready for a second cupful. The coffee jug has a superbly engraved crest to the front of the body and this crest is replicated in miniature to the stand - please see below for further details.

The coffee pot and stand bear clear Georgian hallmarks for 1768 including the maker's mark for Thomas Heming. The burner is hallmarked for two years previous.

Thomas Heming was apprenticed to the Huguenot silversmith Peter Archambo and registered his first mark in 1745. In 1760 he was elevated to the position of royal goldsmith to King George III and was responsible for supplying all the required silverware for his coronation. His TH mark in script is surmounted by a crown to indicate this important "by appointment" status.

The crest can be described as "a lion rampant proper holding in the dexter paw a bar-shot sable". This is the crest of the Rice family and the coffee biggin was almost certainly purchased by Captain Henry Rice (1743-1797) of Llwyn-y-Brain near Llandovery in Carmarthenshire. Henry served as an officer in the East India Company where he gained rank of Captain. He married Sarah Sampson with whom he had four children. Their grandson became Admiral Sir Edward Bridges Rice, KCB (1819-1902). We have a professionally written report about the crest and family that will be supplied to the purchaser of this piece.