Edward VI Britannia Silver Tankard with McPherson Coat of Arms

• Tankard - A tankard is a drinking vessel for beer, ale, and cider, similar in shape to a large mug, and usually with a hinged lid. Silver tankards were in use in Britain and other parts of Europe from at least the sixteenth century, pewter tankards probably from the thirteenth. In the 19th century a number of ornately carved ivory tankards were produced, but these were designed to demonstrate the skill of the carver, rather than for day to day use. The shapes of tankards vary, sometimes globular, sometimes a tapering concave. For those with lids, the lid usually includes a thumbpiece that the drinker can hold down to keep the lid open. Variation in the design of the thumbpiece include wedge, ball and wedge, ball, hammer head, bud and wedge, double volute (scroll), chair-back, ball and bar, shell, double acorn, corkscrew, and ram's horn.
• Acanthus - A stylized leaf motif, one of the primary decorative elements of classical Greek and Roman architecture, derived from the genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Mediterranean area. It is a common element in classical Greek and Roman design, and is often seen in Corinthian and Composite order columns and used as a decorative element in English, European and Australian furniture, particularly on the curve of a leg, and as decoration for a corbel.
• Britannia Standard - A higher grade of silver than sterling silver. Britannia standard silver contains at least 958 parts per thousand of pure silver, while sterling silver contains at least 925 parts per thousand of pure silver.
  
  The Britannia standard was obligatory in Britain between 1697 and 1720 and after that was optional, so there are very few silver items that come onto the market that are Britannia standard.
  
  Not to be confused with silver plated Britannia metal items, often marked as "EPBM", a pewter type alloy, that when unplated can be temporarily polished to a silver-like lustre.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• tankards - silver items 370