Picked this up on my recent trip to London at the Silver Vaults. Got home and just realised the significance of the piece after doing a little research. It's a George III gravy boat, made in London in 1773 by John Parker and Edward Wakelin (IP & EW). This firm would later become Garrards, which was appointed to the Crown Jewellers in 1843 by Queen Victoria (they were only replaced in 2007). The hallmarks are very crisp - and pre-dating 1784, it does not bear a duty mark (the monarch's profile). The crest though is the interesting part - I'm still trying to identify it, but I'm 90% certain that the crest EL is a Duke, as there is a ducal coronet above the initials. Haven't been able to identify the name associated with the piece yet, but it's an interesting bit of research. Nice heavy piece, haven't weighed it (the spot value of items like this is moot), and certainly the nicest piece I've acquired to date. [imgz=http://forums.silverstackers.com/uploads/5_gravyboat.jpg][/imgz] [imgz=http://forums.silverstackers.com/uploads/5_hallmarks.jpg][/imgz] [imgz=http://forums.silverstackers.com/uploads/5_crest.jpg][/imgz]
My Uneducated Guess: James Maitland, 8th Earl of Lauderdale (17591839) It's also similar to this slightly earlier example: http://www.mfordcreech.com/George_II_Scottish_Silver_Salver_Edinburgh_1759_Dempster.html
If I got that in the UK I would have taken it for appraisal on that "Antique Roadshow" show! I watch that show all the time!
EL is likely the person's name initials, not the title. There's a hierarchy of peerage coronets, as best I can make out this one is a Duke or Duchess. There's a possibly that it's a Continental Duke despite being London silver.
