A rare George III sterling silver double tea caddy, London 1787 by Hester Bateman Of oval form with a beaded foot rim, the hinged domed centre lid surmounted by detachable urn finial. The body with engraved bright cut decoration of floral pendant swag with rosettes, between styled rosette and ellipsis borders. Each side with a vacant ellipsis cartouche. The lid with similar bright cut engraved borders of harebells. The interior with a central silver divider. Fully marked underneath, lion passant and makers mark only to lid and to central divider. Length – 14.3 cm / 5.6 inches Height – 14.5 cm / 5.75 inches Weight – 470 grams / 15.11 ozt The central division would have been for storing separately Green tea from Bohea Hester Bateman (1708-1794) is the most well-known of all women within silver, with the Bateman workshop covering a board array of objects. Formerly Hester Neden she was married to John Batman on May 20th 1732, he was recorded as a ‘chain-maker’, where upon his death in 1760 she took charge of the workshops registering her first mark on April 16th 1761. Although Hester, or ‘ester’ as known to her family, was illiterate as seen in the often-cited register entry for her mark showing a naively initialled H and B in place of a signature, the business grew greatly. The Bateman workshop through successive members of her family became one of the great success stories of the 18th and early 19th century. Her daughter-in-law Anne Bateman registered marks with her sons Peter and William Bateman, her granddaughter Sarah Clarke, married her apprentice Crispin Fuller.