These tongs are lovely flared, bright cut tongs. There are several features about these tongs that are similar on all of Joseph Hicks' earlier tongs, namely:

The inward flare of the tongs is very close to the bow.
The bright cut pattern is unusual and has a bright cut edging and distinctive "crescent" shapes engraved on the arm

The tongs are marked in the bowls with the Lion and a script makers mark, dating them to prior to 1784 when the duty mark was introduced.