A silver "two-cigar" case, with Boer War inscription "Dr Kellner, from a Grateful "Australian" Patient, Bloemfontein, 1900". The Australian is in inverted comma's. The case is well made, good quality and gauge, and quite solid. The interior is gilded, and the hallmarks are clear on both sides of the case. H. Matthews was a large and well known Birmingham firm. Bloemfontein was the capital of the Orange Free State, and was surrendered to the British on 13 March 1900. Thirty thousand British troops entered Bloemfontein, and thanks to poor sanitation a typhoid epidemic broke out, which caused hundreds if not thousands of deaths. Doctors (who included Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) were in short supply, with 3 doctors per 350 patients (Pakenham, The Boer War, pg 382) - which no doubt led to the generosity of our unnamed "Australian". Today Bloemfontein hospital is on Kellner Street, we are not sure if there is a connection.

A Royal Navy & Merchant Services gold and pearl nautical crown sweetheart brooch, with 14 pearls set in 18 Carat gold, the detail of the crown is exquisite, this is a top quality brooch. Both the crown and supporting bar are 18 carat gold, both are clearly hallmarked "18CT". The 18 carat gold is a deep yellow colour, the pin has a reddish tinge, so could be 9 carat (pin is unmarked). The pearls are different sizes, with the largest in the centre of the crown. These sweetheart brooches were popular during both WW1 and WW11, we have tentatively dated it to WW11 (1939-1945) given the style of the box. The brooch is perfectly preserved in it's original box, which reads "Royal Appointment, Gieves Ltd, 21 Old Bond Street, London W1". Gieves (now Gieves & Hawkes) is a prestigious Savile Row Tailor, established in 1771, the hold numerous Royal Warrants, including the Queen, Duke of Edinburgh and Prince of Wales. They have long served the British Army, Royal Navy and the Royal family, clients include Lord Nelson, the...

An interesting German silver gravy boat, both Arts & Crafts and Art Deco in style. The gravy boat is oval with a raised lip, and is on a fixed oval base to prevent drips. Both the boat and base are hand hammered, which creates an appealing texture. The handle is shaped bone, fixed to the boat with attractive silver rivets. The gravy boat is lovely quality, quite heavy, and very well made. The boat is hallmarked with the German silver moon and crown (used post 1888), 925 sterling silver standard mark, and makers mark IA for Josef Arnold. The base is also stamped "Arnold" Josef Arnold (1884 - 1960) worked in Hamburg, Germany, he trained with his father at Bruckmann & Sohne (Art Nouveau & Art Deco Silver, Annelies Krekel-Aalberse, pg 145 and 251). He initially taught in Erbach, Hanau and Hamburg, and opened his own workshop in Hamburg in 1931.

A collection of 10 sterling silver rifle shooting trophy and Boer War souvenir spoons. Five spoons have enamel finials, 8 spoons are shooting trophies and 2 spoons are Boer War. The spoons include: 1. P.E.R.C. (Port Elizabeth Rifle Club), E.F. Wilson, 103, enamel shooting range (round medallion), Birmingham 1928, Birmingham Medallion Company, gilded 2. P.E.R.C. (Port Elizabeth Rifle Club), E.F. Wilson, 1927, 100, enamel bulls eye, gilded, crossed rifles, Birmingham 1925, Birmingham Medallion Company 3. & 4. - Toll Gate Miniature Rifle Club, enamel finials with twisted stems, Birmingham 1912, William James Dingley, both engraved "Won by" 5. Man at Arms Competition, Lovely shooting soldier handle, Birmingham 1912, William James Dingley, engraved "Won by EF WILSON PET GRC, score 98, 18 Jan 1913 6. & 7. - Rifle Club, crossed rifles, Birmingham 1909 and 1911, Elkington & Co, engraved "D Coy CP Rifles and A Coy PWCRCPR", nice quality 8. Bloemfontein Rifle Club (English and Afrikaans), City armorial, gilded, B...

Two Victorian silver vinaigrettes, both very similar in shape and design, reflecting the style of the time. Both are oval in shape with a wavy rim, concave sides, both have engine turned engraving, and both have vacant cartouche (for initials or family crest). Both also have an ornate floral grille, and both are gilded. Both also have clear hallmarks on both base and lid, the grille on the Smith example is also hallmarked. The first, by Edward Smith 1845, has an attractive snake shaped thumb piece, the base design is distinctly different from the cover design. The second still has its original sponge. Edward Smith was a specialist boxmaker, he worked between 1827 and 1865. James Cronin and Sarah & George Wheeler worked between 1846 and 1852 from St Pauls Square, Birmingham.

A rare pair of Tudor pattern sauce ladles, made by Chawner & Co, the leading flatware maker of Victorian England. The ladles are fabulous quality, and in excellent condition, they could not be better. The Tudor pattern is a Gothic Revival pattern, it has 2 small scroll circular projections on each side of the stem, this differentiates it from the "Straight Tudor" pattern. Both ladles are clearly hallmarked, they also carry the British Registry design number and date chart diamond, which rarely occurs on silver flatware - class I for metal, date letter v for 1850, and R 14 indicating 14 August. The presence of the design mark indicates the Chawner protected the design to protect it being copied. Tudor is described by Pickford (Silver Flatware page 150) as "a rare Chawner & Co pattern registered August 14th 1850, along with Straight Tudor, it appears in the Chawner Pattern book (page 218). Odd pieces may on rare occasions, be found, but building a service would be extremely difficult". The Tudor pattern is sh...

A Scottish Provincial Fiddle pattern soup ladle, with exceptionally clear and distinct hallmarks, deeply struck with no wear - these hallmarks are rare. The ladle is a good gauge, very solid, and fit for use, and is engraved with the initial I in contempory style. The bowl has a good shape, with raised edges, a feature of earlier ladles. The hallmarks are makers mark CF, ELGIN, cathedral wall and St Giles. The cathedral hallmark represents the west front of Elgin Cathedral Church (Jackson, pg 601), St Giles is its patron saint. The detail of the hallmarks is very good, with windows, door, double roof and battlements visible in the cathedral, and cloak, nimbus, staff and book visible in St Giles. Charles Fowler worked from 1809-1824, most of his silver is marked ELN (as opposed to ELGIN in full), the combination with the cathedral wall and St Giles is scarce.

A fabulous pair of Baltimore silver tablespoons, in the Kings pattern, by Samuel Kirk of Baltimore, and bearing Baltimore assay marks for 1824-1826. The spoons are very good quality and gauge, unlike many American spoons of the period, which were often thinner and lighter than their English counterparts. They are single struck (in Scottish fashion), the back of both spoons is engraved Lyon, we assume the original owner. In addition to makers mark S.Kirk in script in rectangular punch, the spoons have the oval Baltimore Coat of Arms quality mark, in rectangular punch with cut corners, and date letter C, used by Assay Master LeRoy Atkinson between 1824 and 1826 (see www.imperialhalfbushel.com for information on these marks). These date to an interesting period in American silver history, Baltimore between 1814 and 1830 was the only place and date where hallmarks were required on silver in the USA, following the passing of the Assay Act by the State Legislature of Maryland in 1814 (it was unpopular so repealed i...

A fabulous Arts & Crafts silver child's spoon, with a hedgehog finial, made by Francis Cooper, son of the famous John Paul Cooper, who was one of the leaders of the Arts and Crafts movement. Silver by Francis Cooper is quite rare, and is seldom seen (see www.antiquesilverspoons.co.uk for a beautiful tea strainer by Francis Cooper). The spoon has a well modeled hedgehog finial, mounted on a disc with 6 supports, one support is part of the spoon stem detail. The bowl is hand hammered at the back but smooth in front, with the drop and rat-tail part of the bowl. The spoon is exceptionally well made, and given it's superb gauge is a delight to hold (if you have small hands!). The hallmarks are very clear, and include gothic script FC makers mark and the Queens head Silver Jubilee mark for 1977. Francis Cooper (1906-1980, so this spoon was one of the last he produced) worked for his father as a metalworker from 1924 until his death in 1933. John Paul Cooper was an architect turned metalworker, who headed up metal...

A pair of Victorian silver grape scissors, once an essential implement in an upmarket Victorian drawing room, used to cut the stems of a bunch of grapes. This is the rarer type, with traditional scissor blades, as opposed to the more usual 2 wide flat faced blades with a 90 degree angle on one blade, sometimes called grape shears. This set is long and elegant, with a beaded border, and engraved leaf decoration on the back and front, and 2 vacant cartouche's for family crest or initials. The handles are oval rings, and the original steel hinge pin has an attractive circular silver cap with a floral design. The hallmarks are clear, and include makers mark CB on both arms, with date letter C for 1878, London town mark, sterling lion and Victoria duty mark. Charles Boyton & Sons was founded in 1809, and survived until 1933. They were manufacturing silversmiths, they supplied many prestigious retailers locally and internationally. A very similar example is depicted in the book "Millers Silver Buying Guide by Danie...

A mixed set of 6 Cape silver dessert spoons, all in the Fiddle pattern. 2 spoons have original owners engraved initials (HR and WFS), one has the very faint remains of a family crest and engraved initial B, and 3 have no initials or crests. All 6 spoons have very clear Cape silver hallmarks, with no wear, showing quite a lot of different pseudo hallmarks used by Cape silversmiths, so an interesting collection. The first spoon is by Peter Clarke Daniel (PD, pseudo duty, pseudo date letter B, mark 42 in Welz), Daniel was born in Dublin but arrived in South Africa with the 1820 settlers as a child. The second is by John Townsend (JT, pseudo duty mark, date letter a, lion passant and duty mark, mark 123 in Welz). The next 2 are by William Moore (WM, Cape stub mark, Welz mark 100, one spoon also has an incuse D mark, either a journeyman or owners mark). The last 2 are by Lawrence Twentyman but with different hallmarks and made at different times (the Fiddle pattern noticeably different on these 2 spoons). The firs...

A rare set of 3 Scottish provincial toddy ladles (Fiddle pattern) made by James Pirie of Aberdeen. All 3 ladles have an interesting crest, a dexter hand holding a kings crown, which is well engraved. This is the crest of the Cheeseman family, it is also used by the Robertson family. The hallmarks JP, ABD, JP are very clear on all 3 ladles. The makers mark JP is quite rare, in fact it is not depicted in Jackson's, although it is recorded in Turner's Scottish provincial silversmiths.

An Arts & Crafts planished (hand hammered) cream jug, with reeded handle that branches out into 6 cast wheat sheaves, with a cast silver mouse on top looking in. The pouring lip is broad, and the jug sits on a circular foot. The hallmarks are excellent. Sarah Jones is one of the 50 leading silversmiths profiled in the book "Designer British Silver, 1930-1985", by Andrew & Styles, a book which we highly recommend. "Her work is quirky and amusing, she is a superb modeller who produces charming animal studies. Her work is in the Royal Collection, a flower study is on Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's dresser table (pages 266-271). Note: A similar beaker, made by Sarah Jones in 1984 with applied cast silver mouse on wheatsheaf, can be seen on the Styles silver website www.styles-silver.co.uk.

An interesting pair of early Canadian silver tableforks in the Fiddle pattern, made by George Savage of Montreal, between 1818 and 1829. At first glance they look like a matching pair, but close examination reveals differences in weight and length (one fork is 80 mm longer than the other), so these were clearly made by hand. The length difference is not only in the tines, the handles are different lengths, and the fork handles have small differences in size and shape. Both forks have a clearly engraved family crest of a bird (stork or heron?) holding an anchor, this is engraved on the back of the forks, when forks were placed on the table with tines pointing down. Both forks are clearly hallmarked with makers mark "SAVAGE", but one has lines in the punch, the other does not, so we believe they were struck with 2 different punches. Both are also clearly struck with 2 pseudo English hallmarks, a skinny lion passant and a Georgian duty mark, these are very clear. It is also interesting to note that one duty mark...

A pair of Dutch silver Hanoverian pattern tableforks, made in Rotterdam in 1781 by Rudolph Sondag, 'the most famous silversmith in Rotterdam, his work towered above the Rotterdam silver landscape" - source (Schadee, Zilverschatten, Drie Eeuwen Rotterdams Zilver). The forks are clearly hand made, and differ in weight - one is 82 grams, the other 77 grams. The forks have 4 tines, and are bottom marked with 4 clearly struck hallmarks - date letter Y for 1781 with a distinctive dot above one arm, Rotterdam town mark (slight wear at bottom), crowned rampant lion standard mark (934 grade so purer than sterling) and makers mark of sunburst sun in shield punch. Rudolph Sondag's makers mark usually has a face in the sun centre, this is worn on these forks. Sondag worked form 1746 until his death in 1812, he was highly productive and has left behind some magnificent silver, well represented in Rotterdam's Museum Boijmans van Beuningen. Aardewerk notes varied quality in the work he produced, and postulates he guarantee...

A rare Cape silver basting spoon with exceptionally clear hallmarks, they could not be better. The spoon is Old English pattern, but more European than English in style, with a deep bowl and strong tip, it also has a double drop, and no engraving is present with no signs of removal, we think this spoon was never engraved. The spoon is hallmarked with a flower in oval punch, flanked by 2 makers mark IL, with an indent in the top of the punch, this is makers mark 74 in the book Cape Silver by Stephan Welz. Jan Lotter, who was regarded by Heller as "a highly skilled craftsman", only worked for 4 years between 1813 and 1817, so he probably died young. He made most of the prized Cape silver "lemoenlepels" (orange spoons) known to exist today. He worked from 22 Keerom Street.

A rare and interesting pair of Irish Georgian silver Bright Cut tablespoons, engraved "Wicklow Reg", for the 37th Wicklow Regiment, part of the Irish Militia. The spoons are Old English in shape, with the traditional "Dublin Star" engraved at the top above the oval cartouche with the regimental engraving, and traditional bright cut engraving. One spoon is in very good condition, the second has small dents to the bowl, overall quite pleasing for Regimental silver spoons which often are in poor condition. One spoon has excellent hallmarks, the second spoon has clear makers mark but worn Irish marks, still visible (spoon with good hallmarks has the dents to bowl). John Shiels (or Sheils) had a long career between 1762 and 1790, given these spoons are 1797 it is possible a son took over his punches. 38 Regiments of Irish Militia were established in 1793 (one from each county) after the outbreak of war with France, to free regular soldiers up and to control the Irish rebellion. The 37th Wicklow Regiment first saw ...

An interesting and unusual pair of Old English Bead pattern tablespoons, very early for this pattern, and with large bead which was previously thought to be a 19th century pattern. The spoons are a very pleasing quality, with good patina, clearly made by a master craftsman. The spoons have original owners engraved initials B / I-A, and the spoons are bottom marked, the hallmarks have some wear and makers mark is squashed, but still clearly legible to 1776 and makers mark I*M for Jacob Marsh (Grimwade marks 1517 and 3658). Pickford (Silver Flatware page 98) says "Old English Bead's true period of style was during the 1780's, although it is found later", so these spoons are early for this pattern. He further says "two types of bead will be found, fine bead which dates from the 18th century and large bead which dates from the 19th century". These examples are clearly large bead, so we propose they are rare and early examples of bead pattern, before it migrated to fine bead in the 1780's. Jacob Marsh worked bet...

A unique sterling silver inaugural key, made to commemorate the opening of the UNISA (University of South Africa) OR Tambo administrative building on the Muckleneuk Campus, Pretoria, in 1980, and presented to South African Minister of Finance Owen Horwood. A series of parallel bars replicate the shape of this iconic building with it's triangular top, this sits on top of a circular hand hammered disc, which represents the rising moon. The key portion is pierced "UNISA September 1980". The key is fabulous quality, and clearly made by hand. The back of the circular moon disc is engraved "To the Hon OPF Horwood in commemoration of the official opening of the Administration building". The key is clearly hallmarked "E Frey Silver 925". The key is perfectly preserved in it's original box, which itself is fabulous quality, a brown grained hardwood with red velvet interior, the base with felt and original "Erich Frey Pretoria" sticker, the empty box is just under 500 grammes, hinges and clasp in full working order. Th...

A lovely 15 carat gold and enamel RAF (Royal Air Force) sweetheart brooch, with very good detail. This is very pleasing quality, it would have been an expensive item when first made. The brooch has RAF in red enamel under a red enamel crown, above a green enamel laurel wreath, all set in gold, with the feathered wings either side. In addition to the attachment pin, the brooch has a fine gold safety pin and chain, for added security, to prevent the brooch being lost. The back is clearly stamped "15", indicating 15 carat gold, which was a British Commonwealth standard until it was discontinued in 1932 (hence our dating the brooch between 1918 when the RAF was established and 1932).