Sugar Basket
Date1788
MediumSterling silver and glass
Dimensions4 × 5 × 3 3/4 inches (10.2 × 12.7 × 9.5 cm)
MarkingsHallmarks on the bottom: kings head; n [date mark]; HB [in rounded rectangle]; lion passant; crowned leopard
Credit LineGift of Frank A. Rizza, M.D. and family.
Object number2012.15.24.a-.b
CopyrightThe images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextThis sterling silver sugar basket with cobalt blue glass liner rests on a pedestal base. The basket is equipped with a beaded handle and designed with an openwork and beaded band around the rim. Engraved on the side is a boar's head crest.
Though this basket is a lovely piece of artistry, it is not nearly as impressive as the woman who created it. Hester Bateman is perhaps England’s most famous female silversmith. After the death of her husband in 1760, she registered her own mark in 1761 and managed to create beautiful pieces of silver, operate a successful business that lasted four generations, and raise six children, all in a world where women in business were a rarity. Bateman bridged economic classes throughout her life, working to move from her poor and illiterate upbringing to a comfortable and secure life. She created widely popular pieces that were simple yet elegant, attainable by the middle classes yet offering the beauty typically enjoyed by the wealthy elite.
This sugar basket, like most of Bateman’s creations, was intended for dining and entertaining. Its cobalt blue glass interior offers a rich contrast to the silver basket and held sugar for sweetening tea and other foods. The handles on baskets allowed diners to pass food and condiments around the table rather than relying on waitstaff. Although sugar was first refined in India about 6,000 years ago, it did not become widely available in Europe until European nations imported enslaved Africans into colonies in the Americas beginning in the 16th century. With the increased availability of sugar, tea, and coffee brought by expanding global trade and imperial slavery, the demand for silver domestic objects proliferated. Silversmiths like Bateman produced hundreds of types of hollowware and cutlery, limited only by the silversmith’s imagination and their customers’ finances.
