A rare 18th century silver copy of the Goldsmiths' Hall Bargemaster's badge

A rare 18th century silver copy of the Goldsmiths' Hall Bargemaster's badge,

unmarked, London circa 1760,

oval form with chased leaf-embellished reeded rim, the centre finely embossed and chased with the Goldsmiths' Company coat of arms, supporters, crest and motto 'JUSTITIA VIRTUTUM REGINA' on a matted ground, the rear with four ring attachments, height 24cm, weight 12.5oz.

Provenance: Defining The Interior, Bonhams, New Bond Street, 3 June 2015, lot 90.

Bonhams footnote reads; 'Though unmarked, the present lot has been declared by the Antique Plate Committee at Goldsmiths' Hall to be: "a genuine high quality item dating from around the time of the one in the collection, which was made in 1761."

The post of Bargemaster within a Livery Company has its origins in the 15th century with processions of boats along the Thames. The City Livery companies revelled in the waterborne pageantry, it asserted their importance and civic pride and the focus was Lord Mayor's Day. The Brewer's Company records in 1422: 'That William Walderne was chosen Mayor of St Edmunds Day, when it was ordered that the Aldermen and Craft should go to Westminster with him to take his charge, in barges without minstrels.

By the 16th century, the precedence of the Companies was carefully regulated. First was The Lord Mayor's Barge, followed by the barge of his own company. Then followed the other companies in the traditional order: Mercers, Grocers, Drapers, Fishmongers, Goldsmiths, Skinners, Merchant Taylors, Haberdashers, Salters, Ironmongers, Vintners and Clothworkers.

In the 17th centuries the Livery Companies built their own barges and painted them with the companies' emblems and insignia. The bargemaster was an important personage not only in the companies but also in royal and noble households.'