The sugar-caster shown here belongs to the George II epoch of silver. Evidently the rich and varied styles extended to Scotland. The same impulses influenced both nations before the union; in date this is 1746. This is marked with the maker’s initials, E. O., and the assay master’s initials, H. G. (Hugh Gordon) ; there is, in addition, the mark of the castle and the date letter R. The baluster ornament is in almost acorn form. The top with its perforated design is always a pleasing feature in casters. The floriated ornament in this example is of fine character.
Superb Scottish Silver Sugar Caster from Edinburgh, made in 1746 by Maker E.O. and Assayed by Hugh Gordon.
The year 1746 saw the Battle of Culloden and the defeat of the Pretender. Here is a caster of these romantic days, days that find expression in various romances – romances that are true to the life. Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, was beheaded on Tower Hill for his duplicity. Many great Scottish families tried to sit on both sides of the fence. One son went to the Hanoverian forces and the other to the Stuart invader. Robert Louis Stevenson’s Master of Ballantrae shows the poignancy of the situation. But England held aloof in 1745. In 1715, when the elder Pretender essayed to claim his own, England was lukewarm, but in 1745 the House of Hanover had become deeply rooted and no leniency was shown to the invaders.
