An antique Dutch silver lodereindoosje, made in Amsterdam in 1809. The english translation would be vinaigrette, pomander of scent box. The box is in the form of an armoire (kabinet) in traditional shape, with domed lid and shaped doors, decorated with swags and urns, with drawers in the base. The sides and lid are decorated with traditional Dutch scenes, the lid a man with angel alongside tree and horse, the back with a couple in horse drawn cart, and the sides with women churning butter and carrying milk. The base has original owners engraved initials P.V.I., nicely engraved. The hallmarks on the base are clear, and include date letter b for 1809, Amsterdam town mark of 3 crosses without crown (only used between 1807 and 1812 during Kingdom of Holland period). The 3rd mark is 10, the 10 penningen silver standard mark (833/1000), see "Netherlands Responsibility Marks from 1797" page 37, and the 4th mark is makers mark of a heart under device, this mark is slightly worn. This is the mark of Dirk Goedhart, so ...
A Cape silver konfyt fork in the Old English pattern, with 3 tines. The fork is hallmarked with makers mark OA in oval punch, this is faintly struck but still visible, between two square devices with 4 dots, these are both clearly struck ( Welz mark 2). Ahlers worked as a silversmith between 1810 and his death in 1827. He married the widow of silversmith Jan Brevis, which may have facilitated his entry into the trade. He was the son of Oltman Alders of Germany, his mother was Dorothea of Bengal, who presumably arrived in the Cape as a slave. His silver is quite scarce.
A Dutch silver Hanoverian pattern tablespoon (or porridge spoon as referred to by the Dutch) made in Utrecht in 1805 by Sebastiaan de Mare. The spoon has the traditional Hanoverian central rib with turn up end, and a wide drop. The spoon has the original owners initials BI engraved on the back of the spoon, dating back to when spoons were placed on the table bowl down (with initials displayed). The spoon has 5 clear hallmarks, including an excellent makers mark of a laying deer for Sebastiaan Gijsbert de Mare, this mark is a lovely makers mark and exceptionally well struck and clear. The spoon also has the Utrecht city coat of arms mark struck twice, indicating first standard ( Grote Keur), or 925 sterling standard. The date letter is slighty obscured, we believe X for 1805 but could also be K for 1793. The final mark is the Dutch Crowned O second assay mark, quite rare as only used between 1807 and 1810, used as a re-examination mark of earlier silver when resold, or for imported articles without payment of ...
A very pleasing pair of Scottish Provincial silver sugar tongs, by David Gray of Dumfries. The tongs are plain but have lovely proportions, which are noticeably different from English made tongs. The hallmarks are excellent, unicorn, makers mark DG, and fouled anchor. This combination of marks is unusual and is not recorded by either Jackson (pg 597) or by Turner (Directory of Scottish Provincial Silversmiths). The tongs are engraved with script initials EB, which is original.
A Scottish provincial antique silver toddy ladle, Fiddle pattern with engraved initial L, and long elegant handle (longer than most toddy ladles). The hallmarks are very clear, AC, C, thistle, pot of lilies, AC. Alexander Cameron added the thistle mark to the Dundee pot of lilies in the early 19th century, after the manner of Edinburgh marks (Jackson, pg 599).
An interesting antique silver milk (or cream) jug, hallmarked in Exeter but possibly made in Devon. It is oblong in shape, with an unusual cast rim with different types of flowers and thistles, and a very fine engraved band of scrolling foliage around the body. The jug has an ornate leaf and rose capped scroll handle, and 4 bun feet. The jug, casting and engraving is very fine quality, the work of a master craftsman. The 5 hallmarks are all clear, including makers mark SL. The base has an engraved number "10", possibly an inventory number. The oblong shape was popular for tea services between 1805 and 1815 in London, we often see a style lag in provincial centres. Simon Levy produced Exeter hallmarked silver between 1818 and 1832. Of Jewish origin, he was buried in the Jewish burial ground in Exeter, just outside the Roman wall. He was the son of Emanuel Levy, also a silversmith. They resided in the parish of St Thomas, Devon.
A delightful associated pair of Madeira wine labels, with Bacchus masks amongst foliage. The labels were made 4 years apart, but obviously cast from the same mould, by the same maker. The hallmarks on both labels are very clear. The order of the hallmarks is the same, but different punches were used as they are different sizes. This design must have been popular for Willmore to have been producing it for at least a 4 year period. Note the slightly different chain fixture (one has an arm with single loop, the other 2 loops but no arm). One chain appears original, the other is a later replacement.
A beautiful set of Queens pattern tableforks, extremely heavy (over 100 grams each!), they are wonderful to hold! Interesting crest of a curved topped escutcheon containing a wagon wheel, topped with a helmet and a heron. Hallmarks very clear.
A pair of Scottish Provincial silver toddy ladles, made by James Douglas in Dundee. The ladles are Fiddle pattern, and have a well engraved and attractive crest of a raised fist holding a bundle of arrows. The hallmarks include makers mark JD, and pot of lilies struck 4 times. The 4th pot of lily is at right angles to the other 3. Both ladles have good hallmarks. The crest is the Brodie family crest, a dexter hand holding 5 arrows.
A Chinese Export (or China Trade silver) silver dessert spoon, in the Fiddle and Shell pattern, which is an attractive pattern. The spoon is single struck (shell on one side only), and has engraved owners initials NSL, this is beautifully engraved in an interlocking pattern. The hallmarks are clear, and include pseudo lion passant, pseudo crowned leopard head, very clear makers mark CU co-joined, and pseudo Georgian duty mark. Cutshing is a well known China Trade silversmith who worked in the 2nd quarter of the 19th century, he used at least 3 different makers mark (he also used CUT and CU not co-joined). The Fiddle and Shell pattern is rare, most English ones come from Newcastle or Scotland. No examples of this pattern are depicted in the book Chinese Export Silver, all the examples shown are the commoner Fiddle, Thread and Shell patten.
A lovely pair of Early Georgian Hanoverian dessert or Child's spoons, made by the leading Huguenot spoonmaker of his day. The spoons are nicely proportioned, and have a double drop. The spoons are engraved on the back (as is usual for this period) with an interesting original family armorial, an Eagle wearing crown, clutching a quarter circle (sextant?) in its talon. The spoons are bottom marked, as is usual for this period, as a result the hallmarks are slightly squashed but still clearly legible, including makers mark PH under acorn for Paul Hanet. The date letter K is also clear, in unusual square outline (only K and M, 1725 and 1727, are not in Norman Shield, the only anomalies between 1561 and 1739), the second spoon is 1726, these hallmarks are worn but still discenable. Paul Hanet is described by Grimwade (London Goldsmiths, page 532) "from the evidence of the survival of pieces bearing his mark, Hanet was clearly one of the principal Huguenot spoonmakers of his day". Hanet entered his first London mar...
A fabulous Dutch rococo silver teaspoon, made by the master silversmith Johannes Schiotling. The spoon has an asymmetric handle, with scrolls and foliage in C and S shaped curves. The spoon bowl is long and elegant, the drop is also asymmetric foliage. The quality and condition is excellent. The hallmarks include makers mark ISL in rectangular punch for Johannes Schiotling (1730-1799), a Swede from Gothenburg (freed 1753) who settled in Amsterdam in 1762. He specialised in rococo silver, his silver is now in numerous museum collections, including the Rijksmuseum. A portrait of Schiotling and his wife hangs in the Amsterdam museum, see below. The other hallmarks, all clear, include 934 standard mark, Amsterdam town mark and date letter K for 1794. The spoon has additional later hallmarks, Dutch dagger and makers mark AW9 for A Willemse, whoc worked between 1932 and 1941. We are not sure why these later marks are present, perhaps for inspection prior to export, we cannot find any signs of repair. Note - A Lead...
Very fine pair of heavy, embossed rectangular salts on raised base by well known maker. The decoration is embossed scroll, shell and floral with gadrooned rims. The crest is a dove with an olive branch in its beak. These salts are heavy even without the glass liners.
A rare Cape silver condiment ladle, this is only the 2nd one we have encountered. The ladle is Fiddle pattern, similar in shape to a salt spoon, but with a long elegant handle, 3 to 4 cm longer than a salt spoon, the bowl is also more angled, and the handle has a very pronounced turn over for ease of use. The bowl is gilded, the original gilding is in quite good condition, a deep gold colour inside the bowl (note scratches from use), much more faded on the bowl exterior, but still visible. The ladle has 2 notches on the rear of the handle, where an extension was added to the more usual sized salt spoon, but we are confident this is original, as no solder marks are visible, so we imagine it was made on special order. The hallmarks are clear, makers mark LT and 4 pseudo hallmarks (crowned leopards head, date letter a, duty mark and lion passant), this is mark 135 in Cape Silver by Welz. Note: We have sold a previous Cape silver condiment ladle, S11128, by Fredrik Waldek, who took over Twentyman's shop on the He...
A Cape silver table fork in the Fiddle pattern, with very clear Cape silver pseudo hallmarks for Lawrence Twentyman. The fork is engraved with an interesting family crest, a wolf's head erased, the engraving is still clearly visible. The engraving is on the back of the fork, dating back to a time when forks were placed on the table with tines pointed down. The fork is clearly hallmarked with makers mark LT and 4 pseudo hallmarks, all struck individually, pseudo duty mark, pseudo date letter e, pseudo Edinburgh Castle town mark and bird. this is mark 131 in the book "Cape Silver and Silversmiths" by Stephan Welz, but struck in a different order. Lawrence 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 6 Irish silver dessert spoons, in the Fiddle pattern with rat-tails, a feature of Irish flatware of the period. The spoons have original owners engraved initials WMH. The hallmarks on all 6 are excellent, and include makers mark IB for James Brady, who worked between 1821 and 1842. The spoons also have the retailer's mark, NEILL, which is very clear on all the spoons. Irish retailers were among the first to mark flatware, early adopters of corporate branding. NEILL was a leading Belfast retailer, first established by Robert Neill in 1803, the firm survived until 1960.
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 Cape silver konfyt fork in the Old English pattern, with 3 tines. The fork has engraved original owners initials MMR, quite quaintly engraved, possibly by an amateur. The makers mark is very well struck and very clear, makers initials ICL between 2 floral devices with 7 petals (Welz mark 78, page 150). Lotter worked at the Cape between 1811 and his death in 1823, he shared a name with his father Johannes Casparus Lotter, who was also a silversmith (12 members of the Lotter family practised as silversmiths).
A rare pair of American Coin silver Fiddle pattern sugar tongs, made by John Ewan of Charleston, South Carolina, circa 1830. The tongs are plain, with no engraving, and have traditionally shaped rounded bowls. The tongs have very clear hallmarks on both arms, makers mark "J Ewan" in serrated rectangle, and pseudo English crowned leopards head and lion passant (both very quaint!). John Ewan lived between 1786 and 1852, he is believed to have produced silver between 1823 and 1852 (Ensko, American Silversmiths and their Marks, pg 294). Of interest is that these hallmarks are depicted in Wyler (The Book of Old Silver), where he incorrectly describes them as Jamaican (pg 207). Coin silver is the term used to describe silver produced in America from early Colonial times until just after the Civil war, when the Sterling standard was adopted. As the name describes, the source was European silver coins, which were melted down. Note - These hallmarks are depicted in a very interesting article entitled "Re-Visiting Jama...
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".
