An extremely rare William III provincial silver porringer, Newcastle circa 1690 by Abraham Hamer (free 1690, d. 1697)

Of circular form with rounded base and short foot, a slightly everted caulked rim, each side with cast strap S scroll handles. The body with prick dot engraved decoration of bird with wings raised between floral sprays to one side, and another bird atop of a fruiting branch between floral sprays. The rim engraved with contemporaneous inscription “The gift of Thomas and Susannah Forester to J.F”. Marked underneath with town mark twice and makers mark twice.

Length – 14 cm / 5.5 inches

Weight – 106 grams / 3.41 ozt

Abraham Hamer the son of James Hamer, milliner, and was apprenticed to illustrious Newcastle silversmith Francis Batty I on the 1^st Feb 1683 for seven years, on the 22^nd May 1688 the remainder of his apprenticeship was served to Eli / Ely Bliton, ‘with leave of his master and consent of the company’. Freedom of the town 13^th October 1690 and of the company 29^th September 1691.

He married Mary Reah (d. 1696) on the 27^th April 1693 and he himself was buried on the 13^th Deb 1697. Who took on two apprentices Thomas Lightly (1693) and Thomas Gamull (1694/5) who were turned over to Thomas Hewiston I and William Ramsey I respectively upon the death of Hamer. (Gill, 1980).

The mark for Hamer as illustrated in Gill 1980 and in Jackson Revised (1989) are both drawn from a porringer illustrated by William Cripps. This mark subtly varies from the example found on the present lot, there is a pellet instead of a mullet and a pellet above the A and the H rather than both above the H. Given that Hamer has a working life of about 7 years and the decoration on this porringer is of a style that largely disappears by the early 1690’s it suggests the mark on this lot is an unrecorded earlier version of Hamers mark and the example illustrated in the aforementioned texts is of a few years later.

The Forsters of Adderstone Hall and of Bamburgh castle, Northumberland were a prominent North Country family, who primarily used the christen name Thomas.

Most marriages of the Forester families are well recorded, the Thomas Forester mentioned may be the Thomas Forester who was called to the bar Inner Temple in 1688, he was the son of Thomas Forster of Egham (b.1617) and the grandson of John Forster of Bamburgh and Blanchland (1580-1625).

A John Forster of Adderstone was christened on 5^th July 1688 and died in 1745. Son of Thomas of Adderstone (1659-1725) who married on the 27^th Jan 1680 his first cousin Frances Forester (d.1697) daughter of Sir William Forester (1636-1674) and Dorthy Selby of Bamburgh Castle.

Exhibited:

No 122 in Exhibition of Newcastle Silver at Blackgate Museum, Newcastle 19-21 May 1897 (the property of T. Taylor Esq)

Provenance:

Thomas Taylor Esq 1897

Collection of Anthony Aston Smith (1929-2010)

bought from Christie's 26 March 1960 £34