Adie Brothers | Sterling Silver Pepperette | Pear Form on Four Pad Feet | Birmingham 1924

Adie Brothers | Sterling Silver Pepperette | Pear Form on Four Pad Feet | Birmingham 1924

A pear-shaped pepperette on four pad feet, its pierced cap topped with a small turned finial.

This sterling silver pepperette has a plain pear-shaped body that narrows to a shaped, moulded rim. The domed cap is pierced with rows of round holes, edged with a shaped border that follows the line of the rim, and finished with a turned finial. The body stands on four pad feet, each joined to it by a small shell-shaped mount.

The pepperette is hallmarked for Birmingham, 1924, with the anchor of the Birmingham Assay Office, the lion passant for sterling silver and the date letter “z”, the last letter of that cycle. The cap is marked as well. The maker’s mark is that of Adie Brothers Ltd, a Birmingham firm founded around 1879 that made tableware, condiment pieces, compacts and cigarette cases until the late 1960s. The base carries a faint stamped registered design number, read as Rd 297349, which dates the registration of the design to 1897. The pepperette itself was made in 1924.

It is in very good condition, with light surface scratches from use and no repairs.

Key Details

• Maker: Adie Brothers Ltd, Birmingham
• Material: sterling silver
• Hallmarks: Birmingham anchor, lion passant, date letter “z” for 1924, Adie Brothers maker’s mark; cap also marked
• Registered design: faint stamp, read as Rd 297349 (design registered 1897)
• Form: pear-shaped body on four pad feet, pierced domed cap with turned finial
• Height: 8 cm
• Diameter: 3 cm
• Weight: 29 g
• Condition: very good; light surface scratches

Collector Appeal

The pear-shaped body, shell-mounted feet and pierced domed cap give this small pepperette a distinctive outline. Its Birmingham hallmarks record its silver, maker and date, and the registered design number links its design to the late Victorian period.

Another Adie Brothers pepperette of the same design and year, from the shop: companion pepperette.

A small piece of table silver, still ready for a dinner party a century on.