This is a good quality George III Sterling Silver Fish Slice with a pierced blade and filled handle. The broad leaf shaped blade has lattice piercing in a pointed arch shape and a letter A engraved inside a cartouche formed as a laurel wreath. The handle is in the fiddle and thread style.
The fish slice is made in London by John Emes and dates to 1800, with the handle being made by London cutler Joseph Taconet in the same year. Filled handles, where the shaft of the blade is inserted into a silver handle filled with pitch for strength, were essentially the work of a specialist cutler or knifemaker, so it is not unusual to find individual makers' marks on the two parts of the fish slice.
Condition of the blade is very good with no dings, dents or damage. The filled handle has a few small dings in it, which is only to be expected with this type of handle after over 220 years of good service. Please make sure to view all the photographs as these form part of the description.
The fish slice is 28.7cm / 11.3ins long, 7cm / 2.7ins across the broadest part of the blade and weighs 148.8g / 5.2oz, which does of course include the filler material in the handle.
The hallmarks on the blade are somewhat rubbed, with the Sterling lion largely erased but the others still clear to read. They show the crowned leopard's head for London, the date letter E for 1800, the George III duty mark and the ghost of the lion passant for Sterling Silver. The marks on the handle have, on one side, the crowned leopard's head for London, the lion passant for Sterling Silver and the date letter E for 1800 and on the other side the I T makers' mark for Joseph Taconet, the specialist cutler.