Over-sized Silver Lemon Strainer, 1760 Edward Aldridge

This is a huge antique silver lemon strainer dating from the early George III period and made by Edward Aldridge.

Presumably made to cover a punch bowl, the strainer stretches almost 12" across with the handles, so that it can span a bowl and be used for straining lemon (or orange) juice of its pips when making punch. The first photo demonstrates its size when compared against a modern tea strainer in the form of the same style.

The bowl is beautifully pierced in an intricate pattern and to the centre is the maker's mark "EA" for Edward Aldridge. Interestingly, the maker's mark is struck six times - once to each handle and four times to the centre - this shows the piece to be a duty dodger where the fees and taxes for hallmarking silver were avoided (three of the marks to the bowl centre have been partly struck in an attempt to simulate true hallmarks) and so adding a further point of interest and thus even more collectable.

This large lemon strainer is in superb condition throughout.