£1,200
Natural history. A turtle carapace from the cutler's feast of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire, 1841, mounted with contemporary silvered brass armorial shield engraved with the shield, helm and crest of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire and inscribed Thomas Ellin Junior Master Cutler AD 1851, 67 x 79.5cm, approximately 1.2kg
Thomas Ellin Junior (1799-1847), the son of Thomas Ellin the first, was elected Master Cutler in 1841
The tradition of a live turtle forming the principle part of the cutler's annual feast on the election of a new Master Cutler began in the 1770's and continued until the Edwardian era. Another example with the reptile's head and similar engraved shield is at Cutlers' Hall, Sheffield. The tradition gave rise to the production, in very small numbers, of the magnificent Sheffield Plate soup tureens in the form of a turtle that were made between about 1790 and 1810
Cities Certificate No: 23GBA1010OQCL
Fine old colour and condition, small old loss to shell surface and small old chips, two neat old drilled holes either side for fixing
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