Stock No. 2711	George II silver gilt sugar nips
	Very elegant and well proportioned George II, silver gilt, sugar nips. London circa 1755. Maker GN. The straight but decorative arms terminate in shell-shaped grips. One side of the central hinge is engraved with the family crest of Giles - a squirrel sejant, facing left, holding a leaved oak branch in its front paws. The Lion Passant hallmark is stamped on the inside of one of the grips and the maker's mark is stamped on the inside of the other. Both are very clear indeed.
	Maker :- GN

Condition :-Excellent condition with crisp hallmarks and very little wear to the gilding
Hallmarked :- London 1755
Size :- 4.5 inches (11.4 cm) long
Weight :- 1.03 ozt (32.1 g)
The maker GN is as yet untraced but his mark has been recorded by Arthur G. Grimwade, F.S.A., in his book "London Goldsmiths 1697 - 1837", page 255, No.3589. The earliest sugar nips date from about 1715, when they replaced the andiron type of sugar tong. By the 1770s, sugar nips were being rapidly replaced by sugar tongs but were re-introduced in the mid-nineteenth century. These sugar nips are in such pristine condition that they would make an ideal gift. Also, they have a wide opening span and are not at all flimsy and so could very easily be used as a decorative pair of ice tongs.

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