Elongated, tapered flay form topped with engraved C-scrolls and surmounted by foliate knop and chain ring, terminating in realistic hand with extended pointed finger and foliate gauntlet cuff. Marked. Length: 10.75 inches.

HESTER BATEMAN GEORGIAN SILVER-GILT TORAH POINTER.

London, 1781

English silversmith Hester Bateman (1708-94) was willed her late husband’s silver workshop upon his death in 1760. Indeed, she registered her “HB” mark at Goldsmith’s Hall in 1761 - the first of nine marks. She worked with her sons, silversmiths Jonathan Bateman and Peter Bateman who left a legacy of their own. A majority of the silver produced by the Bateman workshop was commissioned by other silversmiths and therefore “over-stamped” hence rendering Bateman-marked pieces rare. Perhaps the most notable piece of Hester Bateman Judaica is a pair of magnificent George III silver Torah finials produced for the Portsmouth Synagogue, sold: Christie’s Amsterdam, Silver & Objects of Vertu, June 1st, 1999, lot 538. Another representation of Hester Bateman Judaica, a silver Sabbath hanging-lamp (1781), is housed in the Max Stern Collection, Yeshiva University Museum (accession no. 1986.168).