An important Charles II Tankard Made in London in 1675 maker's mark of I.I attributed to John Innes.
An important Charles II Tankard Made in London in 1675 maker's mark of I.I attributed to John Innes.
375770
The base with flattened spreading edge below a moulded and threaded wire, the tapering body applied a little way up with a similarly moulded girdle. The front engraved with bold plumes and leaves around a contemporary armorial and the lid with similar engraving around a crest. The lid also with a cast lion couchant thumb piece, beautifully detailed, with its tail flicked up over its back all sitting on a cut card platform. The edges of the cover also moulded with a threaded border. The "S" scroll handle, with plain rat-tail, descending to a wavy cut escutcheon at the bottom. Fully marked on the side of the main body, cover and with the maker’s mark on the handle. The maker's mark is shown on page 138 of Jackson's, "Silver & Gold Marks". The example cited is a large tankard, so John Innes must have specialised within this area of production, or it may be this specific example as it does emphasise a "Large" tankard.
Height, to the top of the thumb piece £ 7.6 inches, 19 cm.
Length, handle to front of the main body: 8.5 inches, 21.25 cm.
Base Diameter: 5.75 inches, 14.38 cm.
Weight: 38.6 oz
Provenance
The arms are those of Smith thence to:
Humphrey Wood, FSA, (1838-1904) Solicitor and Collector from Chatham
The Executors of Humphrey Wood deceased sold at
Christies, 19th July, 1904, lot 57 (£147 to Crichton)
Crichton Bros sold to Colonel William Fearon Tipping of Brasted Place, Kent.
Colonel Tipping deceased, Christies, 15th May, 1911, Lot 38. (£232 to Mallet)
Property of a Gentleman, Christies, June 13th, lot 257, front cover illustration. (sold for £20,570 inc. premium and VAT) Shown in image stream.
Exhibited
Victoria and Albert Museum, at some point after 1904 and before 1911, lent by Colonel Tipping.
The loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum is indicative of the rarity and quality of this tankard. It holds 3 pints (1.7 litres) and is of very good weight. As was customary it is fully marked to the right of the handle and on the lid with a further maker's mark to the handle. The base is engraved with a scratch weight "38=15" .
The arms are recorded by H.Sydney Grazebrook of the Inner Temple in "The Heraldry of Smith", published in 1870, plate XIII, see attached. He suggests that the arms may be that of Smith of Crabbett of Smith of Shirford in Warwickshire.
There is no shortage of plain tankards from the reign of Charles II onwards but there are only a few that have the quality of the Innes example, and very few have the lion thumb piece. This fine tankard has a great provenance going back over 120 years.
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![](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://marycooke.co.uk/british-silver-1649-1759/an-important-charles-ii-tankard-made-in-london-in-1675-makers-mark-of-ii-attributed-to-john-innes&media=https://seek-unique-co.s3.amazonaws.com/marycooke-8876-Qfhef-OE67/stock/6aa575ef09213_image_url_hd31.jpg&description=The base with flattened spreading edge below a moulded and threaded wire, the tapering body applied a little way up with a similarly moulded girdle. The front engraved with bold plumes and leaves around a contemporary armorial and the lid with similar engraving around a crest. The lid also with a cast lion couchant thumb piece, beautifully detailed, with its tail flicked up over its back all sitting on a cut card platform. The edges of the cover also moulded with a threaded border. The "S" scroll handle, with plain rat-tail, descending to a wavy cut escutcheon at the bottom. Fully marked on the side of the main body, cover and with the maker’s mark on the handle. The maker's mark is shown on page 138 of Jackson's, "Silver & Gold Marks". The example cited is a large tankard, so John Innes must have specialised within this area of production, or it may be this specific example as it does emphasise a "Large" tankard.Height, to the top of the thumb piece £ 7.6 inches, 19 cm.Length, handle to front of the main body: 8.5 inches, 21.25 cm.Base Diameter: 5.75 inches, 14.38 cm.Weight: 38.6 ozProvenance The arms are those of Smith thence to: Humphrey Wood, FSA, (1838-1904) Solicitor and Collector from ChathamThe Executors of Humphrey Wood deceased sold atChristies, 19th July, 1904, lot 57 (£147 to Crichton) Crichton Bros sold to Colonel William Fearon Tipping of Brasted Place, Kent. Colonel Tipping deceased, Christies, 15th May, 1911, Lot 38. (£232 to Mallet)Property of a Gentleman, Christies, June 13th, lot 257, front cover illustration. (sold for £20,570 inc. premium and VAT) Shown in image stream.ExhibitedVictoria and Albert Museum, at some point after 1904 and before 1911, lent by Colonel Tipping.The loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum is indicative of the rarity and quality of this tankard. It holds 3 pints (1.7 litres) and is of very good weight. As was customary it is fully marked to the right of the handle and on the lid with a further maker's mark to the handle. The base is engraved with a scratch weight "38=15" . The arms are recorded by H.Sydney Grazebrook of the Inner Temple in "The Heraldry of Smith", published in 1870, plate XIII, see attached. He suggests that the arms may be that of Smith of Crabbett of Smith of Shirford in Warwickshire.There is no shortage of plain tankards from the reign of Charles II onwards but there are only a few that have the quality of the Innes example, and very few have the lion thumb piece. This fine tankard has a great provenance going back over 120 years. ){kind=link}