Expert: Martin G Roberts - 10/23/2006

Question
Dear Mr. Roberts,

i would like to ask for your opinion on this piece ofSheffield Pewter.

It is an estimatly 0.5 liter or 1 pint tankard with engraved hunting scenes and an eyecatching fox-handle. (The fox made me buy it, i have to admit...).

It measures 13 cm fom bottom to top and 15 cm from the bottom to the foxes nose-tip. It measures 8 cm on the upper and 10,7 cm on the bottom diameter.

It is Marked:

English Pewter
Made in Sheffield
An "W" and an "A", each in a  coat of arms, a crest or a buckler.

It shows -for my eye pretty simple- engraved a cross-countryside hunting scene of two horseriders, two dogs and old willowtree and additional scenery like grass and a padock door.

The condition ist not crisp. The lower handle-part must have sufferd a punch, for it is slightly causing a bulb into the tankard, but not too deep.

I dont know much about english pewter, so I would love to receive informtion on the marks, the company, the age, if the fox is original or a later addition and last but not least some hints to the question, wether this is collectable if not of worth.

Please refer to my foto-page at zooomr.com for several detailed and zoomable pictures for a better imperession.

http://beta.zooomr.com/smartsets/generator22/4291

Thank you very much in advance and excuse my bad english.

Sincerely Yours,

Sebastian from Berlin

Answer
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Good photos. Shame about the piece. It's modern, made in the last 30-40 years in Sheffield, England. Not sure who the maker is - there are many, and their marks are not sytematically recorded. These are very, very common, and worth very little I'm afraid, though I can confirm it is all original. The engraving is probably pressed from a template on which the detail shows as raised lines - these templates were made by etching sheets of a metal harder than pewter. The piece was then run through a press, then the now 'engraved' pewter was formed into the body.

It's a mug, not a tankard. Tankard is a term we reserve for lidded drinking vessels.