Rare Queen Anne Silver Beaker, Chester 1700

This is an extremely rare piece of early Chester silver with the bonus of a dated inscription.

This tapering cylindrical silver beaker is beautifully chased with swags and tulips in typical late 17th century style and has an original dot-prick engraved inscription to the top rim that helps accurately date the cup to the early years of Queen Anne's reign. The engraving reads "IA 1704 C (over) WM" - this was likely a wedding gift in 1704 from IA ("I" being old English for a "J") to a couple with the first name initials "W" and "M" and a surname beginning with "C. 

The underside is stamped three times: twice with a conjoined "RH" mark and once with "STER/LING". This latter mark is associated with Chester silversmiths of the late 17th/early 18th centuries before the Chester Assay Office officially began to mark their wares in 1701. See page 106 of "Chester Goldsmiths: Early Times to 1726" by Maurice Ridgway for a list of these marks.

During the final two decades of the 17th century, Chester silversmiths had a habit of conjoining their initials as marks - e.g. Nathaniel Bullen, Thomas Robinson, Alexander Pulford etc and although this RH mark is not recorded, it almost certainly belongs to a Chester-based silversmith. A possible proprietor of the mark was Ralph Hocknell who entered a New Standard mark at the Chester Assay Office soon after its opening in 1701 and was likely to have been working for a short period prior (Ridgway page 121).

This silver beaker is in fine antique condition throughout with a good patina.