This handsome silver tankard was made around 1700 by the celebrated gold- and silversmith Gabriel Felling.

Felling is thought to have been a Protestant immigrant who is first recorded in Britain in 1676, when he was working in London for the royal goldsmith John Cassan. The tankard features Felling’s mark, the initials GF in a plain rectangular shield. In 1678 Felling is recorded as working in Bruton, Somerset, the market town where he died in 1714. He made a number of significant pieces during his 36 years in Bruton, including a silver dish decorated with the story of Aeneas’ escape from Troy, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Bruton Museum aims to tell the story of the town through local artefacts. This tankard is the first piece by Felling to join the collection.

Provenance

Recorded by Spink and Sons in 1970s; private collection; Lawrence's auctioneers, Crewkerne, 2017.


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