This is a pair of quite unusual tongs. They are much shorter than usual being only 4.3/4 inches long. They also have a lovely serrated edge to them - often referred to as a feather edge. They also have a lovely clear maker's mark - note the "B" is not quite vertical and they are hallmarked for the latter part of 1815, after the second increase in duty of that year, (the duty mark has a flat bottom). This means they are dated between 1st September 1815 and 29th May 1816.

They appear to be very well proportioned, i.e. the bowls are aesthetically right and the overall proportions fit well. About 10mm up from each bowl can be seen a small rectangular inserted piece where the bowls have been joined on to the arms. This is only very faintly visible on the inside and is almost invisible from the outside. There is no break in the feather edge engraving which suggests they were made this way BEFORE being engraved. This strongly suggests they were made this way originally. Given that they are only 3/4 inch shorter than would be normal, it is possible that they were originally made longer, and were “shortened” for some reason. My inclination with these tongs is that they came out of the Bateman workshops appearing as they do now.