James Le Bas

James Le Bas was an English silversmith who later moved to Dublin in Ireland. Working from 1786 until his death in 1845, his two sons William Robert and Benjamin both worked in the family firm.

He started out apprenticed to his father William Le Bas, a noted silversmith. He moved in 1786 to work for Samuel Merton another silversmith in Foster Lane and then on again to work for William Pitt a goldsmith in Westminster in 1793.

In about 1800 he moved to Dublin and set up a manufacturing workshop in Great Strand Street in Dublin. In 1813 he was described as a plateworker.

The firm became known for tea sets decorated with foliage, birds and flowers with William Middleton being his chief silversmith. They also developed a metalworking technique that enabled them to apply cast decoration to existing chasing.