Rarely seen very fancy 1740s Gorham Georgian sterling silver sugar nips/teatongs

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Rarely seen very fancy 1740s Gorham Georgian sterling silver sugar nips/teatongs:
$239.99

We are listing these very rarely seen extremely fancy 1740s Georgian sterling silver sugar nips (or tea tongs, as they were known in the 1700s) which were made by the London silversmith John Gorham. Sugar nips were the predecessors of cast and bow shaped tongs (which continue to the present day), and nips this fancy are very rarely seen (their decoration is so unique they were almost certainly custom made to their owner\'s specifications). The nips have very heavy fancy scrolled arms and shafts which are incised with a highly unusual wavy design (echoed on both sides of the hinge as well), and they are marked on the top of both finger rings with a lion passant (in the shape used in the 1740s) and an I*G maker\'s mark. This mark was registered in 1728 by London silversmith John Gorham (see page 102 of Grimwade\'s London Goldsmiths 1697-1837). The reference book on nips, Eighteenth Century Silver Tea Tongs (whose author also has the silverteatongs website), notes that Gorham was one of the few specialist nip makers (epitomized by the quality of this stunning pair). The nips are 5 inches long, weigh a very substantial 2.1 ounces, are uniquely decorated, have very nice five lobed grips/bowls, and they are in very good condition. Almost all surviving nips have been repaired (due to their fragile designs), but I do not see any obvious repairs on this pair. Please view the closeup pictures and judge for yourself (the nips have not been professionally polished). A very rarely seen very fancy uniquely decorated pair of Georgian nips.

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