A SILVER-GILT MOUNTED HARDSTONE ORNAMENTAL TREE

Francis Bowditch's mother and later Bowditch himself ran an antique shop in The Cavendish Hotel, St James', probably established in the late 1960's, when the hotel re-opened. Bowditch sold his own extraordinary pieces in the shop during the 1970's after taking up silversmithing late in his career; he entered his first mark at the Goldsmith’s Company’s Assay Office on 22 September 1970, re-registered his mark in 1975 and there is no mention of his mark being re-entered in 1985, so it's likely that his production only spanned a decade or so.