Tankard

Tankard, with a soldered on thumbplate inscribed with an ownership triad of ‘C’ over ‘T and ‘A’. The body is inscribed ‘Tho’ Cowley/ Dukes Head/ Princes Street/ Westmr’ within a beaded oval. There is a crowned WR London verification mark below rim to the left of the handle. There is a worn touch inside base by William Wadsworth, London, OP4896, LTP1060 (struck on London Touch Plate No. 4 in 1780), who was free in 1780 and opened his shop in Queen Street, Westminster, in 1789. Wadsworth worked until c.1805. Asymmetrically framed touches in the Rococo style are very rare in English pewter. Wadsworth arranged in 1789 with the son of an older pewterer, Richard Pawson, OP3562, for him to adopt Pawson’s ‘crowned rose spray’ touch which was a very unusual transaction, not yet explained. Date: 1780-c.1805.

The inscription probably refers to the Duke of Ormonds Head which was open in Princes Street, Westminster, between 1809-11 and as ‘The Duke of Ormond’ with the same address 1826-27. (Lillywhite, 1972 - 6064.)