Good George III Sterling Silver Hot Water Urn, hallmarked London, 1778-1779, by James Stamp (free 1764, died 1780), the urn-form body with narrow beaded banding, arched acanthus-mounted handles, and fluted and beaded tap, with waisted collar and standard, the fitted, domed lid with toupie finial, the whole above a square plinth base raised on four spherical feet, h. 20-1/4", d. 12", w. 10-5/8", 104.68 t. oz. Provenance: Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, Laurel, Mississippi, and being sold for their benefit. The first mention of James Stamp is his freedom by redemption to the City of London on May 2, 1764. Freedom of City - which permitted a craftsman to ply his trade in the city - was obtained in three ways: by service (successfully completing an apprenticeship to a master), by patrimony (eligible to sons of freemen, although the father must have been awarded freedom before the child's birth), and by redemption (upon payment of a fee by a qualified candidate). His redemption papers note that he was the son of Adam Stamp, cordwainer of London and - given that he evidently learned the goldsmith's trade somewhere other than London - he may well be the James Stamp, son of Adam Stamp, who was baptized on August 3, 1732 at St. Mary, Tetbury, Gloucester. He entered his first mark on April 18, 1764 in partnership with his soon-to-be brother-in-law John Baker (who married his sister Ann Stamp on July 14, 1765). Stamp and Baker re-entered their mark in 1765 and 1768, their premises on Ludgate Street, and on September 16, 1769, Stamp was married to Frances Fenwick. Shortly afterwards, the Stamp and Baker partnership was dissolved, and although there is no record of Stamp entering a mark until 1774, he was elected a Liveryman of the Company in 1771 and had, by that time, established a workshop at 86 Cheapside. It was, by all evidence, a large and prosperous shop, with Stamp paying duty for three apprentices and entering six marks between 1772 and 1779. He died suddenly on April 11, 1780 in Bath (where he was a councilman); published obituaries and extensive generous bequests in his will show that he was a man of both stature and considerable means. His widow Frances entered a mark on May 12, 1780, but died less than a month later. The couple had no children, and the workshop was succeeded by buckler James Sutton. Although Stamp's Cheapside workshop was operating for less than a decade, the quality of its output - as evidenced by this handsome urn - ranks him among the most accomplished of Georgian silversmiths.