Colonial Bright Cut Sugar Tongs ?

[buckler]

A friend has just obtained a very interesting pair of bright cut tongs with what looks to have a psuedo assay lion and an unknown , to me, maker.
The bowls on the tongs are unusual, being almost a gadrooned acorn and the decoration a trifle naive. The odd back legs of the lion passant, the wide gape and the strange bottom to the punch are all most un-Londonlike

Any ideas ? - please !






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[nigel le sueur]

Clive
l think they are London made by Thomas Adcock a small worker (ent 1772)
To me they are an attractive pair of tongs and are quite early.l can see what you mean about the lion but l am sure they are right, the decoration and style all what l would expect from a pair made c1780
Nigel
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[buckler]

Many thanks Nigel .
The TA mark for Thomas Adcock in Grimwade (No 2679) is very different to this one . These tongs have a makers mark with very long droopy serifs on the crossbar of the T and very long horizontal serifs to the legs of the A.
However Grimwade does indicate another "similar mark 23.4.1776" but when he says similar , he usually means virtually identical ! Certainly I must check his 1776 mark at Goldsmiths Hall.

I would also not discount it being an unregistered mark of Adcock's - he fits the time frame and was a smallworker.

But coupled wth a very odd Lion Passant I still tend to think colonial, especially as the engraving doe not look London.
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[nigel le sueur]

Clive
Yes looking a Adcock again the mark shown in Grimwades is not his (l must wear my glasses more often)
Working on the London theme another one who fits the time frame is Thomas Arnold, Grimwade shows two marks for him 2682 and 2678, the latter is still not a good match but he entered a total of four, another one can be discounted as it was small and probaly for gold but the fourth mark (not shown ) was similar to 2678, the long horizontal serifs on the A are not a thousand miles away, but the T has not got the long drops on it like the one you have shown.
Well just a observation
Regards
Nigel
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[Tongtwister]

Hi guys,

how about Thomas Allen of Sheffield. He registered two marks, a normal one and an incuse one, but I would expect to see other hallmarks??

Regards
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[Tongtwister]

Another possibility is Exeter. Trowbridge & Ashford sent in some early tongs as did "Ashford & Co."
Their names were Francis Trowbridge & William Ashford, but it is conceivable they used "TA" as their mark I suppose but I don't know what their mark looked like as I have never seen one. Those tongs do have a similar look & feel to early Thomas Eustace work, and the lion looks like the early Exeter Lion.
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[Granmaa]

I don't know how I missed this the first time round.

Tongtwister is right about the lion being from Exeter. I have seen it on tongs by Joseph Hicks and Thomas Eustace and also a pair by JT which has now been identified as the mark of Jonathon Tingcombe.
The attribution to Trowbridge and Ashford also seems very likely to me. There was no other TA at the time. The assay books record many tongs made by them. Their last assay was 3rd October 1783, after which Trowbridge continued on his own. Strangely, this lion differs to the one on contemporary date-lettered pieces (eg tablespoons), so it isn't easy to date exactly, but I would estimate c.1780-84.
Another mark found!

Miles

[buckler]

Thanks Miles
You have convinced me that the Lion is Exeter.
But I remain slightly less convinced that TA = Trowbridge and Ashford !
Although if they did apppear in the assay books of the period AND had no FT/WA mark then they must have used something !