Honest John's Silver Tumbler Cup, 1717 Humphrey Payne

This is a fabulous quality George I period silver tumbler cup complete with a good set of Britannia Standard hallmarks and an apt and interesting engraved inscription around the top rim.

Tumbler cups are so called because however hard you rock them, they will return to the standing position. They are often thought to have originated on-board ship to assuage the choppiness of the sea. This 300-year old tumbler cup is a particularly large example with a generous capacity and a good hefty weight - perfect for a well-earned tot of whisky or brandy!

The rim is charmingly engraved "Here's a Health to all Honest John's" and the date "1734". "Honest John's" refer to John Bull as the personification of  Englishmen that was popularised during the early decades of the 18th century.

The underside of the cup has a good set of hallmarks for 1717 (often on tumber cups they are so worn as to be illegible). The marks show the silver to be the purer Britannia Standard (95.8% comapred to Steling's 92.5%) which was compulsory between 1697 and 1720. The cup was made by Humphrey Payne and his maker's mark features "Pa" below a hen - a reference to his workshop which was located at the Hen & Chickens on Cheapside. Payne entered his first mark as largeworker at Goldsmiths Hall in 1701 after concluding his apprenticeship with Thomas Parr.

All-in-all this is a first rate early silver tumbler cup with lots of interesting features, excellent condition and a lovely antique patina.