A seven inch ladle by William A. Atkinson, Lincolnton, North Carolina circa 1792, Jonesboro, Tennessee after 1793, and later in Grainger County. In 1801 William and his brother Mathew, also a silversmith, were commissioned by the Tennessee Legislature to make the first State Seal.
The early form of this ladle certainly suggests that it is by William A. Atkinson and not one of his sons. Dr. Caldwell in his book on Tennessee Silversmiths does not show a mark for any of the Atkinson clan, making this piece a real rarity.

1200.00