A fabulous set of six Georgian Silver Old English table spoons by Hester Bateman, the most famous of all English female silversmiths. The spoons are bottom marked, and the hallmarks are slightly squashed but clearly visible. The spoons have a double drop. The spoons are excellent quality and are in extremely good condition, this is a lovely set. The spoons also have a interesting family crest, an armoured fist holding a dagger. Hester Bateman took over her husband's business on his death in 1760, and retired in 1790 when her sons, Peter and Jonathan took over the business.

A rare Scottish Provincial silver soup ladle, made in Banff by John Keith. This is a beautiful ladle, long and elegant, it is also very substantial, a pleasure to use. The ladle is Old English, and has a contemporary engraved initial "M". The ladle also has an unusual drop, bowl shaped with a ridge. The hallmarks include makers mark "IK" for John Keith, capital letter "B" (thought to represent Banff), and capital letter "M" (used by Keith , possibly to represent a date letter). The hallmarks are clearly legible, but the bottom left of both the "B" and "M" mark is not visible, probably as a result of not being well struck. We have dated this ladle to circa 1790, so early on in Keiths career.

A Scottish provincial toddy ladle in the Old English pattern, with circular bowl and a long, elegant, curving handle. The ladle is engraved with script initials AP, which are contemporary. The hallmarks include makers mark DM struck twice, either side of the Dundee town mark, a "Pot of Lilies". The pot of lilies is the arms of the burgh of Dundee (Jackson pg 598), the pot has 2 handles, clearly visible here. The hallmarks are clear, with slight wear to the lilies at the top of the mark. David Manson worked between 1809 and 1818, his work is quite rare.

Plain marrowscoop with a long drop, in lovely condition and with very clear hallmarks. The makers mark is very deeply struck. Schofield, who worked from Temple Bar, was reknowned for his impeccable craftmanship. He worked for the Royal Silversmiths Jeffries, Jones and Gilbert.

A beautiful scoop in excellent condition, with very clear hallmarks. In addition, this scoop has an interesting bundled snake crest, also in excellent condition. This scoop is also slightly larger and heavier than others we have seen.

An extremely rare and unusual Cape silver Napkin (serviette) holder. The holder has an arm that hooks into a buttonhole, and a clamp that is opened or closed with a sliding ring. The clamp end is decorated in a very crude shell, and the sliding ring is crudely banded. This item could be unique, made by special commission, as none of the Cape silver reference books describe napkin holders. The hallmark is very clear (DBD between two stars, mark 44 in Welz). Dominique Badouin du Moulin was a Belgian from Mons (Bergen), who worked as a silversmith in the Cape between 1818 and 1833 (Welz, Cape Silver). He married the sister of silversmith Jan Beyleveld.

Lovely set of Kings pattern (with diamond point) Cape tableforks, of very good quality and gauge - the forks are 100 grams each, very heavy to hold. Cape flatware in Kings pattern is fairly rare, the most prevalent patterns being Fiddle and Old English. These forks all have the same English pseudo hallmarks (leopards head, date letter A, duty mark and lion, Welz mark 135), struck by the same punch in the same workshop. However, 4 have the maker mark LT (Twentyman), and two have the makers mark FW (Waldek). This is not unusual, as Waldek worked for Twentyman, and probably took over the business when Twentyman departed for India, circa 1835.

A pair of Georgian Scottish silver Celtic Pointed pattern tablespoons, by Alexander Ziegler, who worked in Edinburgh between 1782 and 1802. These are elegant spoons, and although tablespoons are large enough to be used as serving spoons today. Celtic Pointed (or Pointed Old English) is a style used in Scotland and Ireland, not seen in English silver (Pickford, Silver Flatware, pg 96). The spoons have contemporary engraved initials TB in traditional Scottish style. The hallmarks on both spoons are clear.

An early Cape silver tablespoon, in the Hanoverian pattern (with turned up end). The pip at the top of the stem is very pronounced, sufficient that the spoon can "hang" from a finger!. This spoon also has a very unusual "fat" drop, also with a pronounced pip, we have not seen this feature before. This probably indicates the spoon was made early on in Schmidt's career. The spoon has makers mark DHS for Daniel Heinrich Schmidt, described by Heller (History of Cape Silver) as the Cape's "Greatest Silversmith". This spoon is extremely good quality, it is pleasing to hold. The second mark is the bunch of grapes used by Schmidt. Schmidt was originally a soldier and sword cutler from Germany, he arrived in the Cape in 1768 with the VOC (Dutch East India Company). He worked until 1811 (Welz, Cape Silver, pg 139).

A Cape silver konfyt (preserve) fork in the Fiddle pattern, with 3 tines. The only hallmark is the makers mark J.B which is clear, mark 16 in Cape Silver by Welz. Beyleveld was born in the Cape in 1792, he worked from Waterkant and Loop Street.

A Cape silver tablespoon in the Fiddle pattern, with pseudo English hallmarks. The spoon bowl is long and elegant, and the spoon is good quality and is pleasing to hold. The hallmarks are very clear (Welz mark 148 in Cape silver) and nicely detailed, even hair is visible on the duty mark, and the flag is visible on the castle. The base of the duty mark is cusped, and the makers mark LT is also clear.

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.

Set of 12 Fiddle pattern dessert spoons and forks, made by Hamilton & Co, the "Garrards of India". All 12 have a crest and set of initials (AD), the crest (which are worn but visible) is a dove with an olive branch in its beak, under the motto "Nil Nisi Fidum" (translated "Nothing but Trust"). All are clearly hallmarked with maker mark, elephant, the capital letter A and a variety of tallymarks.

A magnificent silver gilt snuffbox with a superb finely detailed battle scene. The gilding on the battle scene has different tones, the base has a deeper rich red tinge, this fades to a lighter yellow gold colour in the sky. The box is exceptional quality and a pleasing weight. The sides and rim are richly decorated with cast flowers and thistles, which leads us to believe it is possibly a Scottish battle scene (we welcome opinions!). The battle is being fought with swords, battleaxes, lances, shields, armour and horses, no sign of firearms. The detail includes a castle in the background, flags, finely detailed armour and armorials on the shield - the work of a master craftsman. The base is engine turned, and has a blank cartouche. The interior lid is engraved "Presented to Thomas Ogilvy Esqr, by the New Quay Company of Manchester, as a mark of their gratitude, for his great attention & trouble as arbiter, in the investigation of the disputed claim, made on them by Messrs Francis Philips & Sons, 1829". The en...

Plain marrowscoop, by specialist spoonmaker Elizabeth Oldfield. This scoop is very dainty, being smaller than later versions. Oldfield was the widow of silversmith Charles Jackson, and had a previous mark as Elizabeth Jackson. She remarried in 1750, when the mark pictured here was registered. The hallmarks are clear, and the original owners initials "WY" are scratched in small letters next to the makers mark.

A rare Cape silver Basting (or serving) spoon, by the Cape's "Greatest Silversmith" Daniel Heinrich Schmidt, as described by Heller in History of Cape Silver. The spoon is Hanoverian in style, with a very pronounced "turn up" end, almost 90 degrees to the spoon handle, a strong pip and a rib on the front of the handle. The spoon also has a double drop, and the stem changes from rounded to flattened. The spoon is a very good guage, with solid bowl and strong tip, very suitable for use. The hallmarks include makers mark HNS (mark 174 and 175 in Welz, Cape Silver) and a bunch of grapes. This was described as an unknown maker by Welz, but it is now accepted that this is the mark of Daniel Schmidt, with some wear and damage to the punch so the D looks more like an H (see Welz marks 108 and 109). The presence of the bunch of grapes, identical to that used by Schmidt, confirms this. The only other Cape silversmith to use a bunch of grapes was Jan Lotter, his bunch is quite distinctly different. Further confirmation ...

A Georgian silver baluster Christening mug, embossed with a delightful scene of a child sitting with a squirrel under trees, with a butterfly hovering overhead. Additional decoration includes a variety of flowers and scrolling foliage. The double scroll handle is capped with an acanthus leaf scroll, and the spreading base is gadrooned. The mug is engraved "EW, The Gift of his Grandmother, Mrs Walton", and the interior is gilded. Joseph Angell I was the first member of the Angell family of silversmiths, described by Pickford as "very fine 19th century family of goldsmiths" (Jacksons hallmarks). The makers mark, lion and London town mark are very clear, the date letter and duty mark are worn but still legible. 1821 is the year the London townmark leopard's head lost his crown.

A lovely pair of Cape Silver Konfyt (Preserve) forks, made by Christiaan Kruger circa 1780. The forks are 3 pronged, indicating its early age, and have pointed terminals. They have typical Cape engraving, with a double banded wavy prick engraved border, and attractive star on terminal, above original initials IK. Both forks are struck with makers mark CK (Welz mark 61), one of the marks has been double struck. Kruger was born in the Cape in 1761, and apprenticed in 1773. He married Hester de Villiers in 1784.

A rare Hanoverian pattern 3 prong Cape silver Konfyt (preserve) fork, by Gerhardus Lotter, this fork has loads of character, we really like it. The fork has a pronounced Hanoverian rib on the front, and original engraved initials PM on the back (18th century flatware was engraved on the back, when they were placed tines down on the table). The fork also has an unusual V shaped drop, more Continental in style than English. The fork is hallmarked twice with makers mark GL (Welz mark 70), the punch is quite crude, the G looks more like a C, possibly worn. Gerhardus Lotter, son of Johannes Casparus Lotter, was part of the Lotter family of Cape silversmiths. He was born in 1764 and died in 1824, Welz records him working between 1810 and 1824 (Cape Silver, pg 135). From the style of this fork we would date it circa 1785, well before English influence arrived at the Cape, so perhaps Lotter worked earlier than suggested by Welz.

A beautiful Irish Georgian silver sugar tongs, with bright cut engraving, Irish "Star" and shell style bowl. The tongs also have a well engraved Lions head family crest in one of the cartouches on the side. No initials are engraved on the bow. The tongs are very good quality, as you would expect from Irish Georgian silver. The tongs have 3 hallmarks, crowned harp for Dublin in rectangular punch with cut corners (used 1793-1809), makers mark JD in script in oval punch, and Hibernian duty mark. No date letter is present, as is usual on Georgian silver tongs (Hodges, Georgian Silver Sugar Tongs, pg 198). John Daly worked between 1786 and 1809, from the style of the tongs we place them circa 1795. Irish tongs by Daly are probably rare, as they were not recorded by Hodges in the book described above.