A set of 24 George II sterling silver dinner plates, each shaped circular with gadrooned border, engraved with a coat-of-arms below a baron's coronet. hallmarked Thomas Heming, London, 1759 width 652g depth 24.5 cm (each), the arms are those of the Earl of Abingdon for Willoughby Bertie, 4th Earl of Abingdon (1740-1799). Bertie was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, the second eldest Son of Willoughby Bertie, 3rd Earl of Abingdon (1692-1760) and Anna Maria Collins., When his elder brother James died in a fire at Rycote in 1745, Bertie became his father's heir, succeeding him as 4th Earl of Abingdon on 10 June 1760. Bertie was also a music patron and composer, as well as a political writer. Abingdon earned himself the reputation of a political maverick. His obituary in the gentleman's magazine remarked that 'his frequent speeches in the house of Peers were peculiarly eccentric.' He married Charlotte Warren, daughter of Admiral Peter Warren, on 7 July 1768. They had seven children., Abingdon was plagued by financial problems from the moment he inherited the earldom. With his own extravagant lifestyle doing little to alleviate his problems, he died insolvent in 1799. Much of his estate at Westbury, Wiltshire, was sold off over a period from 1777 until his death. The manor of Weston-on-the-Green in Oxfordshire, which he inherited from his brother Captain Peregrine Bertie in 1790, was entailed by Peregrine as a secundogeniture and passed to his younger Sons, eventually becoming the property of the Rev. Frederic Bertie. Abingdon square park in Manhattan is named after him.
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- Engraving - The method of decorating or creating inscriptions on silver and other metal objects by marking the surface with a sharp instrument such as a diamond point or rotating cutting wheel.
- Hallmarks - A mark stamped on articles of precious metals in Britain, since the 14th century, certifying their purity. It derives its name from the Guild Hall of the Goldsmiths' Company, who recieved its Charter in 1327 giving it the power to assay (test the purity) and mark articles of gold and silver.
The hallmark will consist of several marks, including the:
- silver standard mark, indicating the purity of the metal. Sterling silver is .925 pure silver.
- the city mark indicating the city in which it was assayed eg London, Birmingham, York etc.
- the date mark, usually a letter of the alphabet in a particular font and case,
- a duty mark, indicating whether duty had been paid to the crown, and only in use from 1784 to 1890
The piece may include an additional mark, the maker's mark, although not forming part of the hallmark, will be located in the vicinity of the hallmarks.
Sometimes silver plated items will bear faux hallmarks, often confusing those not familiar with silver markings.
- Gadrooning - A series of lobes usually as a border. In furniture gadrooning is found as carved decoration around the edges of table tops in the Chippendale and Jacobean style furniture. Gadrooning is also found as decoration on the rims of silver and ceramics.
- George Ii - George II (1683 - 1760) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1727 until his death in 1760.
- Sterling Silver - Sterling silver is a mixture of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% of another metal, usually copper. Fine silver is 99.9% pure silver, and is relatively soft and the addition of the very small amount of copper gives the metal enough strength and hardness to be worked into jewellery, decorative and household objects.
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