A rare piece of Bermuda history is going on sale at Sotheby's in New York and could fetch as much as $50,000 and the owner hopes it will return to a buyer on the Island.

A Bermuda silver tankard, made on the Island in around 1710 by Thomas Savage Sr., a silversmith who worked in both Boston and Bermuda, is going under the hammer as part of an Important Americana auction on January 23 and 24.

Measuring just seven inches high and engraved with the initials I/IM, believed to be those of John Jennings Jr., who died in 1733, and his wife Mary Stowe, who died after 1742, it is expected to fetch between $30,000 and $50,000.

A Sotheby's spokesperson explained that 'I' was often used in place of 'J' in early initials.

On the tankard, one 'I' is engraved above the other 'I' and the 'M', with the upper initial said to represent the family name (Jennings) and the lower letters standing for the couple's given names (John and Mary).

John was a second generation Bermudian whose grandfather Richard Jennings, came to Bermuda in the mid 17th century. A will, believed to be that of his father, John Jennings Sr., names him (the father) as "John Jennings of Southampton Tribe", and goes on to list other family property in Smith's Tribe.

The tankard descended through this branch of the Jennings family which eventually married into the Butterfield family in 1836. The current owner of the tankard is a direct descendant of Nathaniel Butterfield, founder of the Bank of Butterfield, who for years has kept the piece in a safe.

Realising the importance of the tankard to Bermuda's early history, the owner now hopes that the auction will see the piece return to its native land.

"Since the tankard has been out of Bermuda for quite some time the consignor would be especially delighted if the tankard would return to the place it was made," the Sotheby's spokesperson added.

"Bermuda silver is extremely rare and does not frequently show up at auction," she said.

"Only 38 silversmiths are known to have worked in Bermuda between 1650 and 1900, and the majority made small objects such as spoons, buckles and buttons.

"Only seven silversmiths were known to have made larger objects, and only 30 of these objects are known today."

Thomas Savage Senior (1664 to1749) was born in Boston and trained as a silversmith from 1678 to about 1685.

Savage and his family moved to Bermuda in the early 18th century and he is known to have lived and worked in Bermuda between 1706 and 1714.

Since 1998, Sotheby's has only sold one other tankard by Thomas Savage, and it is not known if that particular tankard was made while he was living in Boston or during the time he was working in Bermuda.

To give an even clearer idea of just how rare this piece is, only 14 pieces made by Savage are recorded in the standard reference book on Boston silversmiths. Seven of these pieces are tankards and almost all of these have Boston rather than Bermudian associations.

* Further details of the tankard and auction can be found on the Sotheby's website: www.sothebys.com.