IMPORTANT PAIR OF CANADIAN STERLING SILVER TONGS

Montreal, circa 1790, sugar tongs decorated with bright-cut detail & monogrammed, the interior stamped with maker's marks MA MONTREAL, for Montreal silversmith Michael Arnoldi (working 1794-1807), measuring 6.1/8" long, weighing 42 grams. Works by Michael Arnoldi are held in Quebec City at the Musée du Québec and at the Archbishop's palace; in Montreal by the Religious Hospitallers of St Joseph; in Ottawa in the Henry Birks Collection of Silver at the National Gallery of Canada; and in 2 churches in the province of Quebec: Sainte-Famille (Boucherville) and Sainte-Geneviève (Berthierville). Ref: Dictionary of Canadian Biography.