Unmarked, first half of the 19th century, finely hand-chased with landscape and figural vignettes in the Chinoiserie style, domed cover with flower basket finial, engraved to one side with a partial coat of arms.

7.25 in.

35.35 troy oz.

Private Collection, Chapel Hill, NC

The armorial engraving, the coat of arms of Sir Rhys ap Thomas, K.G., of Carew, relates this piece to the family of Philip Thomas, who came from Bristol, England to Maryland in 1651. He received a grant of land on the west side of the Chesapeake Bay.

Noted in The Thomas Book by Lawrence Buckley Thomas, a set of silver purportedly belonging to the immigrant Philip Thomas was:
"last owned by William Thomas of Sandy Spring, MD, but has disappeared. It is reported to have been exchanged at a silversmith's in Baltimore by Mrs. Thomas for plated ware of newer pattern, and has been melted by the purchaser not long before the Civil War."

Finial loose; missing one pin to handle; crazing and minor staining to ivory insulators; light scratching.

$500 - 700