A lovely Georgian silver chamberstick, of good quality and gauge, that is still in excellent condition. The pan is circular but with an octagonal design, the border has alternating devices (one floral, one more rectangular). The candle nozzle is also octagonal, with a column design. The flying scroll handle has a cast thumb-piece with engraved family crest, and slot for holding the companion extinguisher. The chamberstick also has its original detachable conical extinguisher (sometimes called dunce cap extinguisher) with acorn finial, this is also engraved with the same family crest, its attachment has the same floral motif as on the pan. The hallmarks are very clear on both pan and extinguisher, and include Sheffield hallmarks for 1822 and makers mark I&J.S. for John and James Settle, who worked between 1814 and 1824. A number of impressive pieces by these makers have survived, including a pair of impressive wine coolers that can be seen on the Rau website (www.rauantiques.com). The crest , a "demi-lion ram...

A Victorian silver commemorative trowel with ivory handle, of very good quality, with presentation inscription surrounded by scrolling foliage and flowers. The inscription reads "To commemorate the laying of the first stone of the New University of Cape Town by Mrs William Hawke, 28th February 1925". William Hawke of Hawke and McKinley was the architect responsible for the Groote Schuur campus of UCT, a magnificent set of buildings still in use today. UCT is ranked today as one of South Africa's leading universities. The hallmarks are very clear. Atkin Brothers was in business from 1853 to 1958, when they were taken over by CJ Vander Ltd. William Hawke and his partner W McKinley were trained and worked in the UK, Hawke worked in the London Admirality Office of Works, where he assisted with the design of the Simonstown sanatorium (now Naval Signal School). They had a flair for prize winning designs, and in 1905 they won first premium for the Cape of Good Hope University buildings (later UCT). They moved to Ca...

A fabulous silver and enamel advertising cigarette case, featuring the famous English cricketer W.G. Grace. The case is rectangular, and is beautifully engraved with scrolling foliage, the quality is excellent. The interior is gilded, and has 2 elaborately pierced and engraved arms, both with hinges. The oval enamel plaque features Grace walking down the pavilion steps out to bat, carrying his bat, in striped MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) hat, and the words "Like Grace" across his chest. Spectators can be seen in the background, the colours are superb. Both lid, base and 2 arms are clearly hallmarked, the makers mark A&J.Z is clear on both arms but worn on the case. The image is a very faithful copy of a Colman's Mustard advertising poster, which reads "Colman's Mustard, Like Grace, Heads the Field (see picture), circa 1895. This is a historic poster and image, as it represents the first time a sportsman had been used to advertise a general product. Colman's mustard was founded in 1814, and is one of the old...

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).

A collectable silver Castle-Top card case, depicting the Royal Exchange in high relief, by the famous Nathaniel Mills. This castle-top is very fine quality, the relief design stands out 1 cm from the case, and the detail is superb.The case is finely chased with flowers, leaves and C scrolls, and the rear cartouche is monogrammed MRI. The cartouche is a old replacement - a new cartouche has been cut out and added, to accommodate the initials of a new owner. This has been well done and does not detract. The Royal Exchange is situated in London next to the Bank of England. It was opened for trading by Queen Victoria in 1845, this case was probably made to commemorate the opening. The Royal Exchange still exists today, but is now a luxury shopping centre. The hallmarks and makers marks are clear

An interesting and decorative Portuguese silver toothpick holder, made in Porto between 1853 and 1862 by the unidentified maker MJG. The holder consists of a well dressed Chinese figure holding the vase shaped toothpick holder, standing on a ornamental pedestal, with 4 applied silver plaques, the pedestal standing on 4 cast silver scrolling feet. The Chinese figure wears an 8 sided conical hat, a flowing robe with engraved leaf decoration, baggy pants and pointed heeled shoes. The pedestal has a crenulated top, the sides with oval piercings and pierced dots nearer the base. The four plaques (attached with silver nut) consist of 2 Chinese pagodas, a bearded Chinese figue sitting crossed legged, and a European figure holding a conical object with a plume, we guess a fire plume (all assistance welcome!). The square cast base also has a patterned rim. This is a very well made cast item, pleasing gauge, and clearly made by a master silversmith. The hallmarks include makers mark MJG with beaded border, this maker i...

An Arts and Crafts napkin ring set with 4 silver coins, by Charles Robert Ashbee, who was a major force behind the British Arts and Crafts movement. The napkin ring is hand beaten, and the rim has an attractive punched dot pattern. The 4 coins include: 1. Roman Denarius, 46BC, produced by the military mint travelling with Caesar in North Africa. Venus head on obverse, CAESAR, reverse has Aeneas holding his father Anchises on his shoulder, holding palladium in other hand. 2. Danish Krone (Christian IV), dated 1643 3. Danish Krone (Frederik III, brother of Christian IV), dated 1667 4. English shilling (George III), issued in 1787, with kings head in roman attire on obverse, 4 angular shields surrounding garter star, with crowns in angles of shields The hallmarks are very clear, including makers mark CRA in shaped shield. The napkin ring is in excellent condition, thanks to it being preserved in its original box (box is intact but in poor condition). We can only guess as to the origin of the napkin ring, p...

A fabulous set of 12 Victorian sterling silver teaspoons with matching sugar tongs, each of the 13 items has the UK Patent Office Lozenge Diamond registration mark, showing this design was patented. The pattern is a bright cut shell pattern, and is double struck (on both sides), this is a beautiful pattern that will glitter in candlelight. The quality is superb, the spoons around 25 grammes each. The set is perfectly preserved in it's original box, they do not appear to have been used. There is no engraving, these spoons are as pristine as the day they were made. All 13 items are clearly hallmarked with Sheffield Crown, Sterling Lion, date letter Gothic F and makers mark RM/EH in diamond punch, for Richard Martin and Ebenezer Hall, they used this mark between 1881 and 1911 (the firm was established in 1863). In addition, all 13 items have a clear diamond or lozenge registration mark for the British Patent office, this was used between 1842 and 1883, this is the second version of the mark used between 1868 and...

An 18th century Dutch silver salver, in the Louis XIV style, made by Gregorius van der Toorn in The Hague (Den Haag) in 1738. The salver is of almost square form, with moulded shaped corners with shell and scroll decoration and a stepped border, and sits on 4 curved shaped feet. An almost identical shell and scroll salver decoration is depicted in the book "Dutch Silver" by M.H. Gans, page 47, where this style of decoration is dated to 1730. The salver has 4 clear hallmarks, including makers mark G.T in oval punch for Gregorius van der Toorn, this mark is very clear, even showing detail of the indented font at the top of the G and T. The remaining hallmarks include crowned lion rampant Holland standard mark (fineness 934), The Hague (Den Haag or S Gravenhage) city mark (stork holding eel below coronet), this mark with slight wear on one side, and a clear date letter Q crowned for 1738. Gregorius van der Toorn was born in 1715, and became master in 1738, the year this salver was made. He died in 1771 after a l...

A pair of attractive and unusual Georgian silver salt cellars, with a lovely pattern created by numerous embossed ovals with circular eyes, with a textured matt pattern in between. The cellars have 4 cast silver shell headed hoof feet, with additional cast shell feet below the hooves. The cellars have irregular gadrooned rims, and gilded interiors. They are a substantial size and weight, over 160 grammes each, these are lovely quality. The hallmarks are clear, but the makers mark is partially worn on one cellar, and slightly worn on the other, but no doubt this is William Fountain (Grimwade mark 3127). William Fountain was freed in 1785, he had a long career and worked until 1825 (he used this mark between 1805 and 1825). He produced some notable silver, examples of his work are in numerous museums, including the V&A in London.

A magnificent Scottish kilt sash brooch, used to hold the shoulder plaid in place. The brooch has cast thistles and leavesin the outer rim, engraved celtic design in inner rim, surrounding a spectacular cairngorm (commonly known as citrine, also called black quartz or smoky quartz). The gemstone is very impressive, amongst the largest we have seen. It has been estimated at over 100 carats, and is a round brilliant cut. The hallmarks are clear, with makers mark R&HBK for Robert and Henry Bruce Kirkwood, who worked between 1882 and 1900. Scottish citrine is called cairngorm after its place of origin in the Scottish Highlands, and is the November birthstone, also the symbol of brightness, life and hope. Note - We sold a similar Scottish Silver Kilt Sash Brooch S 1372, this brooch S 1968 is larger, heavier and the cairngorm is also larger.

A fabulous quality gold and Diamond World War II Sweetheart brooch, for the Gordon Highlanders Regiment. The brooch has a textured 9 carat gold stags head with impressive antlers, green cabochon eyes (we assume emerald) and two red faceted stone nostrils (we assume ruby). The stags head is surrounded in a wreath of 18 leaves (white 9 carat gold), each leaf contains a diamond, and sits above a crown (which also contains 5 diamonds, so 23 diamonds in total, all are present). The regimental motto "BYDAND", translated as "Stand and Fight", in gold letters set in blue enamel sits in a gold scroll at the base. The hallmarks are clear, and include makers mark J.W.B, 9 and .375 indicating 9 carat gold, anchor town mark for Birmingham and date letter R for 1941. The pin is also hallmarked 9 .375 indicating it is also 9 carat gold. John William Barrett was a manufacturing jeweller who worked between 1903 and 1953, a number of other high quality sweetheart brooches are known by him, so we assume this was an area of spec...

A Rare Set of 6 Liberty & Co. Japanese Sterling Silver Gilded Octopus Teaspoons, made by Sadajiro of Musashiya (Yokohama), these were amongst the first silver items imported by Arthur Lasenby Liberty for his Liberty Arts & Crafts Department store. The spoons have octopi finials, bamboo cane handles, and ormer (abalone) shell bowls, what is remarkable is that each octopus is different. The octopi have been described as "comical, scratching their heads or frowning, adding a wonderful touch of humour" - Simon Moore, Artists Spoons, page 50. The spoons are beautifully gilded, and retain much of the original gilding, their is slight wear on the handles from use. This gilding of the entire spoon is unusual, we have seen other sets without gilding and one set with gilded bowls only. The spoons are well preserved in their original wooden Liberty & Co. box, with green plush velvet interior and green leather exterior with the Liberty logo stamped in gilt lettering, it reads "Liberty & Co. Ltd. Jewellers 218a Regent St....

A rare early Georgian silver brandy saucepan or warmer, made in 1727 in Plymouth by Richard Freeman, and hallmarked in Exeter. The brandy saucepan is the traditional baluster shape, with a short beak shaped spout at right angles to the handle, with decorative silver ball underneath, and a concave base which has preserved the hallmarks. The turned wooden handle is securely fastened with a brass pin, the silver handle has a tear-drop shaped reinforcing plate where it connects to the pan. The handle has a thumb sized slice out of the wood on the side, we assume done by the original owner to improve the grip. The hallmarks are excellent, and include makers mark R.F in shaped shield (makers mark M50 in the book "West Country Silver Spoons and their makers 1550-1750", by Tim Kent, page 90, where he describes Freeman of Plymouth as "a prolific local goldsmith whose career extended over 50 years" (1701-1753). He was admitted to the Freedom of Plymouth in 1719, and entered this particular mark in Exeter in 1720 (the n...

A magnificent Highland Light Infantry antique silver kilt sash brooch, used to hold the shoulder plaid in place. The brooch has the monogram HLI inside the Infantry French bugle horn, set on the diamond cut Star of the order of the Thistle, with Imperial King's crown above, and "ASSAYE" scroll and elephant below. This is surrounded by a thistle wreath with 30 battle honours, all earned before 1914, these include: "Carnatic, Hindustan, Sholingur, Mysore, Gibraltar 1780-83, Seringapatam, Assaye, Cape of Good Hope 1806, Rolica, Vimiera, Corunna, Busaco, Fuentes d'Onor, Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajos' Almaraz, Salamanca, Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Nive, Orthes, Toulouse, Peninsula, Waterloo, South Africa 1851-2-3, Egypt 1882, Tel-el-Kebir, Modder River, South Africa 1899-1902". The wreath is surrounded by an engraved scrolling border. The HLI monogram, crown, Assaye scroll and Elephant are all gilded, the gold colour stands out against the silver background, this is a lovely feature. The brooch is made with from 3 sep...

A lovely commemorative Scottish silver box, beautifully engraved on the lid with 3 different armorials. The sides of the box are decorated with an attractive flower, leaf and bow design, and the interior is silver gilt. The inscription reads "From Friends at Archers Hall to Charles Stewart, Match Secretary, 1891-1901, 22nd October 1901." Archers Hall was built in 1777 for the Royal Company of Archers, the oldest surviving company of longbowmen in Britain. Today a private club, they provide the bodyguard for the sovereign in Scotland (ceremonial today). Members must be Scottish, and are drawn from politicians, military officers and nobility. They compete annually for the "Edinburgh Arrow". The central coat of arms, with motto "Nobilis Ira" (Noble Wrath), has the shield topped with Peers helmet and demi lion rampant. This is the coat of arms of the Stewarts. The armorial to the left is the Royal coat of arms as used in Scotland, but unusually with the English motto "Dieu et Mon Droit" (God and my Right). The 3...

A magnificent and rare Dutch silver tea caddy, octagonal with baluster shape, with pull off domed lid with 4 sided pointed terminal. The caddy has lovely decoration, combining flowers, shells and acanthus leaves in a simple but effective style. The decoration is all hand engraved, and is a little crude. The caddy is well made and is a good weight, individual hammer marks can be seen on the inside. The caddy is quite small, as is usual for these early octagonal baluster tea caddies, when tea was an expensive commodity. Tea would have been poured from the caddy directly into the teapot, this style pre-dates caddy spoons (Delieb, Investing in Silver, pg 27, where an English version of similar style to this caddy is depicted). The hallmarks are clear and include date letter V for 1754, makers mark V.M in heart for Andreas Cornelis Muller (Schadee, Zilverschatten, Drie Eeuwen Rotterdams Zilver, pg 233), citymark for Rotterdam, Dutch lion assay mark (935 silver, this is higher grade silver than sterling 925 stand...

A rare surviving matched set of 12 Georgian Irish silver knives in the Fiddle, Thread and Shell pattern, 6 are table knives and 6 are dessert knives. The knives are in good condition considering their age, and are suitable for use. The steel blades are in good condition, and quite sharp, we believe these are later replacements fitted into the original silver handles, they are not marked at all. The pattern is repeated on both sides, and has shells at the top and bottom, with a scroll in the centre. We have described these as Fiddle, Thread and Shell, but have been unable to confirm this, all assistance welcome, other examples we have seen have no shell at the bottom of the handle, so perhaps this is a different pattern or an Irish variant. Both sets of six are a set, whilst both sets are the same pattern, there are a few differences, hence our description a matched set, the 2 sets of 6 were matched together at some time. The 6 table knives have no engraving, the 6 dessert knives have a beautiful engraved fam...

A fabulous set of 2 serving spoons with matching sifter ladle, with magnificent cast terminals featuring Mr. Punch with truncheon, jesters hat and humpback, and Judy his wife, holding the baby, the 3rd character is Toby the dog, complete with ruff and feathered hat. The cast figures sit on a seal top pedestal, the spiral twist handles are hollow, with a central ball grip, joined to the bowls with acanthus leaf drops. The serving spoons have oval shaped bowls, please note the spoon bowls have been re-gilded. The sifter bowl has scroll, diamond and circular piercing, the original gilding both inside and outside the bowl is still in pristine condition. Overall these are fine quality spoons, amongst the best figural castings we have seen on a spoon, we love these spoons. All 3 spoons are clearly hallmarked for London 1895 by Horace Woodward & Co. Ltd, they worked between 1875 and 1916, primarily from Birmingham but also from Hatton Gardens, London. In addition both serving spoon bowls have pattern number 9685 on ...

A fabulous Tiffany Sterling silver Indian Chrysanthemum soup ladle, in excellent condition, it does not appear to have seen much use. The pattern is truly beautiful, double struck on both sides, with a vacant cartouche for initials or a family crest (this has never been engraved). The bowl is also fluted and has a scalloped edge. The soup ladle is clearly hallmarked "TIFFANY & Co STERLING PAT.1880.M, the M indicates this is an early piece (the pattern was produced from 1880-1934). This must be one of the most beautiful example of hallmarks, with the design wrapping over and through the hallmarks. The soup ladle weighs over 350 grams, so quite hefty to hold, needless to say the quality is excellent. Indian Chrysanthemum has been described as "one of the most magnificent and celebrated sterling silver designs of the 19th century. Chrysanthemum represents one of the last great designs of the Victorian period" -(www.replacements.com), it was designed by Charles Grosjean. "Master silversmith Charles T. Grosjean jo...