A rare pair of Scottish Provincial gravy (or serving or basting) spoons in the Oar pattern, which is a scarce variant of Fiddle pattern (Fiddle without shoulders), only found in Scotland (Pickford, Silver Flatware, pg. 111). Both spoons are engraved in contempory style with the letter "M", and are in such lovely condition that they do not appear to have been used (note the lovely spoon tips). Both have clear Scottish Provincial hallmarks, makers mark RK struck 3 times, and the Perth double headed eagle town mark struck twice. Robert Keay worked in Perth between 1791 and 1825, from the style of these spoons they were made between 1800 and 1805, when Oar pattern was popular in Scotland. A very similar gravy spoon, also by Robert Keay of Perth, is depicted in Ian Pickford's Silver Flatware book, figure 145, pg. 111.
A set of 5 Cape Silver tablespoons in the Fiddle pattern, with initials GHJ which are clearly engraved. The sppons have a chamfered edge (very Continental in style), and all 5 spoons have clear hallmarks (Welz mark 135). The marks include crowned leopards head, date letter a, duty mark and lion passant.
A lovely antique silver child's porringer, in traditional Queen Anne style, although it was made in Georgian times. The porringer has a central cartouche with script initials MB, which are Victorian in style so would have been added by a later owner. The porringer is decorated with curved lobes and flutes, and the cartouche is surrounded by foliage. The porringer also has punched floral decoration, and the S shaped handles are banded. The gauge is quite thin, more suited for display than for use. The base of the porringer is engraved "RB over IG, 1769", in contemporary engraving, indicating the porringer could have originally been a wedding present, or a christening present for a child born the following year. Porringers of the small (child's size) size are quite rare, few have survived. The hallmarks are very clear, and although the makers mark punch has some wear, it is still legible.
An early Georgian silver rat-tail Hanoverian tablespoon, with a pronounced rib on the front of the stem, and oval bowl, as is usual for early Hanoverians. The spoon also has two lovely family crests (correctly engraved on the back of the stem), the first is a snake twisting around a pillar, the second a raised fist holding wheatsheaves, with crosses in the background. The rat-tail pattern first appeared in 1710, the rat-tail disappeared from Hanoverians in 1730. The spoon also has very clear bottom marked hallmarks, including a very clear makers mark (RO under stags head) for Nathaniel Roe. This is a rare mark, it is not recorded in Jackson, and the mark in Grimwade (mark 2396) was a poor impression, largely conjectural, and was undated by Grimwade. The mark is recorded by Wyler (pg 148). Roe was a largeworker who worked in London between 1710 and 1717, when his newly born son died aged 4 days. He then left London for Norwich, where he continued work as a silversmith. He became Sherriff of Norwich in 1737.
A pair of Indian Colonial silver salt and pepper castors, cylindrical in shape standing on a raised circular foot, with removable dome shaped lids. Each castor has 3 gadrooned rims, and retain their original engraving "salt" and "pepper". The pepper castor has smaller holes in a different pattern (salt having larger holes for shaking), the pepper also has its original interior gilding. A similar pair is depicted on page 152 of "Indian Colonial Silver" by Wilkinson, who describes their shape and design as being unique to Indian Colonial silver (pg 165). The hallmarks include makers mark TB&Co, 2 pseudo marks (crowned lion passant and lion rampant holding a crown, pg 155 Wilkinson). The lion rampant mark is a reproduction of the crest of the HEIC (Honorable East India Company), which may have indicated official patronage (Wilkinson, pg 155). Twentyman & Beck, who worked between 1822 and 1826 from 4 Tank Square, Calcutta, were also the only Indian Colonial firm to use a crowned lion passant. The 2 castors also h...
A rare Scottish Provincial pointed end tablespoon, with excellent hallmarks by a scarce maker. The spoon has script initial M (contempory) above the number 8, we assume its position in its original set. The spoon has some overall wear, but is a good weight, still a lovely spoon. Pointed end spoons are uniquely Scottish, the style was never adopted in England. The hallmarks are well struck and very clear, makers mark S.L struck twice, with the Dundee pot of lilies and date letter m. Similar makers can be seen on lot 190, Woolley & Wallis sale of a private collection of Scottish Provincial Flatware, January 2009.
A set of 2 Cape silver Fiddle pattern tablespoons, by a lesser known Cape silversmith whose work does not appear very often. The spoons are a slightly different length (being handmade) and have similar but different hallmarks, so they were probably made at different times. Both have makers mark DC in between two floral or star devices, but both the makers mark and devices have differences, indicating they were struck by different punches. One DC makers mark has separate DC, the other DC appears to be cojoined. The floral or star device was used by a number of Cape silversmiths, including Beets, Hockly, Lotter, Townsend, Twentyman and Vos. The makers mark DC between 2 stars is depicted in Heller's Cape Silver Vol 2 (pg 122), where it is shown as mark NMM15.
A rare pair of Chinese Export silver Fiddle pattern tablespoons, with a good set of pseudo-English hallmarks. The hallmarks include pseudo sterling lion, pseudo crowned leopard's head, makers mark YS and pseudo Georgian duty mark. One spoon has excellent marks, with good detail, the other spoon marks are still good, but have some wear. Chinese Export silver is "stylistically Anglo-American, of the late Georgian period, of fine workmanship and exceptionally heavy weight" - (Kernan, China Trade Silver - Checklists for Collectors Nov 1965) - these spoons are no exception. The website www.chineseexportsilver.com also notes that "Yatshing silver is always of a high standard".
A set of 6 Cape Silver tablespoons in the Fiddle pattern, with initials CIH over WAM. The initials CIH are older, the have more wear than the WAM initials, which would have been added later after a change of ownership of the spoons. All 6 spoons have excellent hallmarks, makers mark FW with the "Cape Stub" pseudo English hallmarks (see article on the Cape Stub in our articles section).
Basting spoon that was made in Bristol but hallmarked in Exeter. The spoon is a good weight, and has no wear in the bowl. The hallmarks are extremely clear, even including the workman's tallymark. A lovely spoon, ideal for use as a serving spoon. William Woodman of Bristol were one of England's largest flatware producers in their day.
A set of 4 Cape Silver dessert spoons in the Fiddle pattern, with initials ACI clearly engraved on each spoon. The spoons have pseudo English hallmarks (duty mark, castle and date letter C), this is mark 139 from Welz (Cape Silver). No makers mark is present, but we can be confident the maker is Lawrence Twentyman, as he was the only Cape silversmith to use these particular hallmarks. The hallmarks are clear on all 4 spoons.
A magnificent Cape silver gravy (also called basting or serving) spoon, in the Kings pattern, double struck with diamond heel. It has a lovely weight and is very good quality, this is one of the most substantial Cape silver spoons we have seen, and is suitable for regular use - in fact a spoon anyone would enjoy using. The hallmarks are very clear, makers mark LT for Lawrence Twentyman, and pseudo English hallmarks (leopards head, duty mark, date letter a and lion) - Welz mark 135, but in a different order. Twentyman was the most prolific of all Cape silversmiths, he had the first shop on Heerengracht (now Adderley Street) with a shop window. He worked between 1818 and 1837.
A set of five Cape silver tableforks in the Fiddle pattern, by the well regarded Cape silversmith Johannes Combrink. This set matches the 6 forks (item S 1480), and has the same engraved initials "FtW", and is by the same maker. The hallmarks are excellent on all 5 forks, makers mark IC and the Cape Stub mark (4 pseudo English marks struck together). This is mark 39 in Cape Silver by Welz, and includes lion passant, date letter A, duty mark and leopards head.
An attractive and dainty Georgian silver vinaigrette of very small dimensions, definitely made for a lady. It is engraved with a Scottish thistle on the base, and has a plain but decorative grill. The lid has a tiny cartouche surrounded by leaves in an oval design, the engraving is pretty but a bit chunky. The gilded grill has an unusual pierced pattern, done by hand, and the original sponge is still present. The hallmarks are very clear on both the lid and base, the grill is also hallmarked. Poole (Identifying Antique British Silver) identifies Bettridge working between 1817 and 1834, as this box is 1837 those dates must be considered erroneous. Bettridge is known for his fine quality silver boxes.
A set of Cape silver tableforks in the Fiddle pattern, by the well known Cape silversmith Johannes Combrink. The forks are engraved with the initials "FtW", which is attractively engraved. The forks are good quality and a pleasing weight, they are suitable for use. The hallmarks on all 6 forks are clear. Four forks have makers mark IC only (Welz mark 31 in Cape Silver), two have makers mark IC between 2 ladder devices (Welz mark 33). Johannes Combrink was born in the Cape in 1781, he married Aurelia Lotter in 1807 and died in 1853. He worked from Dorp Street.
A rare Cape silver berry teaspoon, in the Fiddle pattern, with gilded berried bowl and decorated handle. The spoon must be well travelled in it's early life, as the spoon was made in Cape Town circa 1830, and probably "berried" in London in mid to late Victorian times, when the practice of "berrying" was popular (this practice is unknown in Cape silver). Plain Georgian silver spoons were embossed and chased with fruit and foliate scrolls (Pickford, Silver Flatware, pg 70), and the bowl was gilded to complete the effect. The hallmarks are very clear, makers mark FW and pseudo English hallmarks (leopards head, date letter a, duty mark and lion passant), these are mark 163 (Cape silver by Welz). These are the same punches used earlier by Twentyman, Waldek took over Twentyman's shop and workshop in 1836.
A pair of Fiddle pattern toddy ladles, along with an Old English example, but all made by the same maker in the same year. Given Edinburgh hallmarks, the maker WC could be confused with William Cunningham of Edinburgh, but his makers mark is always in a shaped cartouche. The hallmarks on on all 3 are very clear. Note the switching of the order of the duty mark on the pair.
A rare Scottish provincial teaspoon from Dumfries, in the Old English pattern. The hallmarks include a fowled anchor, X, crown and MH (small) makers mark. The hallmarks have some wear but are still clearly visible, makers mark is very clear.
A rare Irish provincial silver toddy ladle made in Cork, but hallmarked in Dublin. The ladle is circular with a lip for pouring, and has a whale bone handle. The ladle is beautifully decorated, with embossed flowers, leaves and scrolls, on a stippled background. The pouring lip is decorated with a "sunburst" collar. The decoration is typical of the Irish silver of the 1820 period, with floral repousse (embossing) on a background stippled to a matt finish (Bennett, Collecting Irish Silver, pg 79). The whalebone handle is 4 sided, and has an unusual knop end, the circular knob set above silver banded decoration. The hallmarks are all very clear, including makers mark PG in oval outline (Cork mark no. 80 in Bennett). The Dublin Goldsmiths company passed an act in 1807 requiring the Kings head to be stamped on all plate made in Ireland. As this could only be done in Dublin, it forced the provincial goldsmiths to start sending silver to Dublin for hallmarking. Garde, who worked in Cork between 1812 and 1845, appe...
A rare set of 6 Scottish Provincial teaspoons, with engraved initial J. They are an unusual pattern, Fiddle without shoulders, and the edges are bevelled. Each spoon is slightly different, clearly each spoon has been made individually by hand. Each spoon is hallmarked with 3 "pot of lilies" followed by makers mark WC. The marks on 3 spoons are excellent, well struck and very clear, on 2 the bottom right hand corner is not visible, and on 1 spoon the marks are partially visible (but the pot of lilies still clearly visible) - as is often found with makers individually struck by hand. The pot of lilies townmark (azure a pot of growing lilies argent) is taken from the arms of the Burgh of Dundee (Jackson pg 598). Each pot has 3 lilies and 2 handles clearly visible.
