Interesting and attractive, decorative Victorian sterling silver wine ewer or claret jug hallmarked Birmingham 1881 by Elkington & Co. Theewer has an interesting connection with the North Wales town of Carnarvon (Caernarfon)where a Battery of the Royal Navy was stationed in the 1880s. The ewer bears an interesting historical engraved crest for, I believe, the Royal Navy Auxiliary Unit (Reserves), another engraved armorial crest of a lion with 4 arrows and a detailed presentation engraving:
\"PRESENTED TO Sub. Lieut. C.A. JONES BY THE MEMBERS OF THE CARNARVON BATTERY ON THE OCCASION OF HIS MARRIAGE. OCT. 4TH 1883\".
Weight: 490.4 gm. Height: 300 mm. Length (edge of handle to spout): 155 mm. Diameter of base: 87 mm. Hall Mark: Birmingham 1881. Maker\'s Mark: Elkington & Co (also stamped to base).
Carnarvon: A town in North Wales. This was the old form of spelling of the name of the town based on Anglicised phonetic spelling. Since the 1970s the Welsh spellings were generally accepted so the town is now known as Caernarfon.
Summary: As can be seen from the photos this is an attractive and decorative item with an historic link to Victorian-era Royal Naval activity in North Wales. Good luck!
