These are a very interesting pair of tongs. They are completely plain and clearly hallmarked with the incuse duty mark, dating them between 1st December 1784 and 28th May 1786. What is very unusual is that the tops of the arms are cut in from the bow. It appears as if the bow may have been soldered onto the arms at some point. The two pictures clearly show this. However it is unclear whether this is an integral part of the original design or not. It is actually far more likely that the original arms have been soldered onto the bow from a completely different pair of tongs. The arms are of a well known plain, flared style, which whilst not common, is sometimes seen with Hester's work. What is also curious is that they have a mild "acorn" shape to the bowls. This is not seen with the plain pairs of tongs. All in all they are a very curious pair of tongs.

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