E S Barnsley & Co Ltd | Sterling Silver | Queen Anne Revival Pepperette | Birmingham 1918 | 30g

A pepperette made in 1918, the year the war ended — someone at E S Barnsley & Co was still doing very fine work under considerable circumstances.

E S Barnsley & Co Ltd were Birmingham silversmiths of established reputation, active across the late Victorian and Edwardian periods and into the early twentieth century. By 1918 the firm was producing work of consistent quality in period revival forms — this pepperette is a competent example of the Queen Anne revival style that Birmingham makers had refined over several decades. The form references the waisted silver casters of the early eighteenth century: a broad-shouldered body with concave sides drawing inward to a narrower waist before flaring to the base, raised on four shell feet, and surmounted by a stepped pierced dome with a turned baluster finial. It is a form that requires skill to execute well — the curves must be even, the feet properly placed, and the dome proportioned correctly to the body. This example meets all three.

The body is the waisted form with four broad convex panels separated by vertical ridges, the sides curving inward from a broad shoulder to a narrower waist and then flaring again toward the base. Four shell feet at the corners each carry a splayed serrated profile referencing the scallop shell motif characteristic of early eighteenth century silver and its Edwardian revival. The stepped pierced dome top lifts clear of the shoulder on a short neck and carries multiple circular piercing holes in even rows, surmounted by a turned two-stage baluster finial. The hallmarks are struck on the body. The silver throughout is polished and bright with the warm patina of genuine age.

The piece is in excellent condition for its age. The body shows the fine surface scratching consistent with over a century of careful handling and periodic polishing — not damage, but the honest evidence of age. The form is fully intact with no dents, splits, or repairs. The dome top seats correctly and the finial is undamaged.

Key Details:

• Maker: E S Barnsley & Co Ltd, Birmingham
• Material: Sterling silver (92.5%) — lion passant confirmed
• Form: Queen Anne revival waisted pepperette with stepped pierced dome, turned baluster finial, and four shell feet
• Hallmarks: E·S (E S Barnsley & Co Ltd) | Birmingham anchor | lion passant | date letter t — 1918
• Period: 1918 — early George V; antique (over 100 years)
• Dimensions: Height 7.5cm | Length 3cm | Width 3cm
• Weight: 30g
• Condition: Excellent — fine age-consistent surface scratching; no dents, splits, or repairs; dome and finial fully intact
• Buyer profile: Antique sterling silver collector; named maker collector; buyer seeking documented antique English silver; tableware collector

A pepperette made in 1918, the year the war ended — someone at E S Barnsley & Co was still doing very fine work under considerable circumstances.