JOSEPH BELL

Length: 17cm (6.7in)
Weight: 185gr (5.9oz)

This is a fine example of a George I bleeding bowl. It is clearly hallmarked for London, 1718 with maker's mark of Jospeh Bell. The handle is engraved with the initials “E.W.” over “E.S.” and the date 2 November 1720.

The bowl was made in Britannia standard silver. Britannia standard silver was introduced in England in 1697 during the reign of William III, as part of a government initiative to prevent the melting down of silver coins and their conversion into silverware. It required silversmiths to use a higher-purity alloy containing 95.8% silver, compared with the traditional sterling standard of 92.5%. The new standard was named after Britannia, the female personification of Britain, whose figure also appeared on the official hallmarks used to identify the metal’s purity. Although the legislation aimed to protect the nation’s silver currency, the higher silver content made the metal softer and more difficult to work, presenting challenges for silversmiths, particularly when producing objects requiring strength and durability.

In 1720, following complaints from silversmiths about the softness of the metal, the traditional sterling silver standard was reinstated, although Britannia silver remained a permitted alternative. Today, Britannia standard silver is recognised by its fineness mark of 958 and may also bear the traditional Britannia figure. Antique pieces made between 1697 and 1720 are particularly significant to collectors, as they represent a distinctive period in British silver production

Bleeding bowls were a medical vessel used during bloodletting, a widely practised treatment in which blood was deliberately withdrawn from the body in the belief that it would restore the balance of the four humours and improve health. Commonly used by physicians and barber-surgeons from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries.