New photography by Shannon Ruff captured with a digital camera-2007.

Salver

Maker Hester Bateman (English, 1709 - 1794)

CultureEnglish

Date1787-1788

MediumSilver

DimensionsOverall: 2 x 14 x 18 in. (5.1 x 35.6 x 45.7 cm)

InscribedStamped on bottom: HB (maker's mark, in script); Lion passant (sterling standard); Crowned leopard's head (London assay), m (date letter for 1787-88); King's head (duty mark). Engraved in script on underside: Mr. & Mrs. Tomkins / To / John Butler Esq., / 1787.

Credit LineMuseum purchase

Object number96.25.1

On View

Not on view

DescriptionThis silver salver is raised on four shell-ended feet with a beaded edge and engraved arms of the Butler family in the center. The oval salver is in the Neo-Classical style. The underside is engraved.

Label TextHester Bateman English (1708-1794) Salver, 1787-88 Silver, 2 x 14 x 18 in. Museum purchase 96.25.1 Hester Bateman registered her own maker's mark with the London Goldsmiths in 1761 upon the death of her husband in order to continue his silversmith business. Bateman also trained her children to become skilled craftsmen, and by the 1780s the Bateman company held a solid reputation for high-quality, elegant designs. Hester Bateman continued working until her retirement in 1790 at the age of eighty-one, and was widely recognized as one of England's finest woman silversmiths. These objects are an excellent example of the distinguishing characteristics of her work: extraordinary craftsmanship that combines graceful line and classical simplicity. Exhibition History"The Art of the Silversmith: Silver from the Collection of The Chrysler Museum of Art," Norfolk, VA, April 17/18 - August 31, 1997. "Women of the Chrysler: a 400-Year Celebration of the Arts," Large Changing Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., March 24 - July 18, 2010.