Presented is a fine English Georgian sterling silver samovar or hot water urn made by Robert Sharp in 1791. The urn has a classical fluted body and two graceful and slender handles on either side. This urn displays a lovely engraved shell boarder and a delicate engraved pattern around the lid. There is a crest of a bird pecking the ground on the front of the urn above the spigot. This urn has a capacity of about 36 fluid ounces, or 1.06 liters.

This piece is fully hallmarked with the English lion passant for sterling silver, the leopard's head crowned for the city of London, the duty mark of King George III's head, the maker's mark RS for Robert Sharp, and the date letter q for 1791. All marks are present on the underside of the urn and on the lid's lip.

This piece is in great overall condition. The body of the urn has no leaks, but the spigot has a slow drip, which varies between 2 and 8 minutes per drop depending on how well the spigot is sealed. This can probably be fixed. The knob has a small piece broken off. This can be seen in the third photo top.

There are a few solder marks at the base but nothing that would be noticeable while the piece is in use. On the underside, We can see that the foot has been reinforced with lead. This is the only space where there is lead. It is likely that this was done to weight the bottom. We guarantee there is no lead inside the urn. This is important, however, to note when looking at the weight that not all the weight is in sterling silver. Certainly the vast majority of the weight is sterling.

The urn stands about 13 1/2 inches tall and measures about 7 inches across the handles, or about 7 1/2 inches from back to tip of the spout.

This urn weighs 1337 grams or 46.2 regular ounces.

-kc