A fabulous pair of Cape silver tablespoons in the old English pattern, with a beautifully engraved contemporary family crest, a rabbit or hare jumping over a rock. The spoons are good quality and weight, and are well preserved. Both are struck with makers mark IC for Johannes Combrink, one is very clear, the other is slightly worn. The spoon terminals have a strong turn and rib on the back, and an unusual shaped drop, very colonial in style. We have not identified the family crest (suggestions welcome), perhaps Haas or Haasbroek? This pair are amongst our favourite Cape silver items, they are lovely spoons.
An interesting collection of York silver teaspoons, with well struck and interesting York silver hallmarks. The oldest spoon is Old English pattern, the other 5 are Fiddle pattern. The spoons are as follows: 1. Old English, Robert Cattle & James Barber, 1809, Mark 16, Baggott, pg 89 (An Illustrated Guide to York Hallmarks 1776-1858) 2. Barber, Cattle & North, 1828, mark 21 Baggott, pg 89 - half moon journeymans mark, engraved "Kathleen". 3. Barber, Cattle & North, 1831, mark 23 Baggott, pg 90, engraved initials ED in script, contemporary. 4. Barber & North, 1835, mark 24 Baggott pg 90, defect to corner of punch. 5 & 6). Pair, Barber & North, 1844, mark 25 Baggott pg 90, defect to edge of punch. As can be seen form the photographs, the marks are well struck and quite varied. Robert Cattle, originally in partnership with George Cattle, John Hampston and John Prince, took James Barber into partnership in 1808. The partnership was dissolved in 1814. Robert Cattle was Lord Mayor in 1840, he died in 1842 (Mu...
A lovely Queen Anne Dognose (also called wavy end) spoon in Brittania silver. The Dognose was popular during the Queen Anne period, and the transition between the earlier Trefid and later Hanoverian can clearly be seen. This spoon is engraved "KH" on the back of the spoon, which is correct as spoons were placed bowl down on the table at this time. The spoon has a very pronounced rat-tail, and is quite good quality, this spoon has a nice feel. The hallmarks are quite clear but squashed, as is usual for this period, as the stem was shaped after the hallmarks were struck. The hallmarks include Britannia, lions head erased, and date letter O for 1709. The makers mark is partially worn, but enough is present to positively identify Henry Greene (Grimwade 878, Jackson pg 160), with the R, distinctive shaped shield and pellet below. Greene was apprenticed to Thomas Allen (one of the First Fifteen spoonmakers), and freed in 1700. He was one of the London goldsmiths who signed the petition against "necessitous strange...
A Cape silver tablespoon in the Old English pattern, with rare makers mark, which is very well struck. The tablespoon has a long drop, and initials "TA" on the back of the spoon, dating this spoon to the 18th century. The marks include makers mark "IVC" struck twice, either side of a very clear fish hallmark, complete with mouth, eye, fins and scales, this hallmark is very well struck. This is mark 171 in Cape Silver by Welz, who lists it as an unknown makers mark. The fish in Welz is not as clear as this actual hallmark. Welz also depicts the mark as "I:VG", so it must be a different punch - the dots are not present here, but the C could easily be a G. This mark is also depicted by Heller (History of Cape Silver, Vol 1) on page 163, where the fish detail is clearly visible - he attributes this mark to Johann Voigt (?), indicating the attribution had not been proved. Overall an interesting and rare Cape silver mark, extremely clear, this needs further research.
An interesting set of 4 Scottish silver dessert spoons in the Old English pattern, made by a highly regarded silversmith, Patrick Robertson. The spoons are bottom marked, and are engraved with a floral device. The hallmarks are excellent, including makers mark "PR" for Patrick Robertson, which is well struck. Robertson had a long and distinguished career, he worked between 1751 and 1790. He was born in 1729, and was apprenticed to Edward Lothian in 1743. He was Deacon in 1755 and 1765, and was a member of the Royal Company of Archers. He was related to the architect Robert Adam ("Silver Made in Scotland", Dalgleish and Fothringham).
An interesting antique silver spoon, used as a prize in a rifle shooting competition in Natal (now Kwazulu Natal), South Africa. The stem has the cast inscription "For Making Central Bulls Eye", the back of the bowl has an applied plaque, the emblem of the Natal Rifle Association. It contains a seated Boer soldier on a horse, with the motto "Semper Parati" (Always Prepared), and the date 1862, we assume the date the association was formed. The horse and rider are well modelled, as can be seen in the photos. Semper Parati is now the motto of the Boy Scout movement, perhaps Baden Powell encountered it during his time in South Africa during the Boer war. The spoon was made by the highly regarded Levi & Salaman, and has Birmingham hallmarks for 1905.
This caddy spoon is by Taylor & Perry, who are known for their good quality caddy spoons. The bowl is beautifully engraved with flowers and foliage, the handle with leaves. The cartouche has the initial H, and the hallmarks are very clear. The caddy spoon is Fiddle pattern.
A lovely set of six Art Deco coffee spoons, with unusual pierced design, celtic in appearance. They were retailed by Boodle & Dunthorpe, Goldsmiths of Lord Street, Liverpool, and are still in their original box. Boodle and Dunthorpe (Boodles) was founded in 1798 in Liverpool, and are still in the Lord Street premises in Liverpool. Boodles is a highly respected firm, they made the octagonal silver wedding cake stand for HRH Princess Elizabeth, now Queen. The spoons were made in 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II. The hallmarks on all 6 spoons are perfect.
A modern reproduction of the rare "eagle's wing" caddy spoon, amongst the most collectable and desirable of all caddy spoons. The original versions of this spoon were produced by Joseph Willmore and Matthew Linwood in Birmingham circa 1815. It was also copied by George Unite in Birmingham circa 1865 (see John Norie Collection of Caddyspoons - Woolley & Wallis, 2004). John Norie himself described the eagles wing caddyspoon as "the most revered and sought after of all specimens" in his definitive book on the subject. This is a cast spoon (cast marks can be seen on the base), and is very good quality and gauge, and pleasing to hold. The plumage is textured and the hallmarks are very clear. The eagle's wing caddy spoon is the emblem of the Society of Caddy Spoon Collectors, who recently published the book "The Caddy Spoon in the 20th Century", with the eagles wing featured on the back cover. They note that Thomas Bradbury & Sons reproduced the eagle's wing caddyspoon (page 18) along with other traditional spoons,...
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.
A Cape silver tablespoon in the Old English pattern, with a very rare Cape silver hallmark. The spoon is good quality and weight, well preserved, and has a colonial V shaped drop. The hallmarks include makers mark WM, and a very rare Cape silver stub mark that is not depicted in Cape Silver by Welz (Welz shows the regular Cape stub mark, used by 5 silversmiths including Moore, with 4 pseudo English marks). This stub mark has the lion passant, a gothic capital A, smiling leopards head and Queen Victoria duty mark, with detailed hair. As can be seen, this is a very different stub from the one usually seen, struck with a different punch (Welz mark 100). This rare stub mark is depicted by Heller (History of Cape Silver) as MM62 (pg 154), the regular Cape stub mark is MM61 (see also our articles section for an article on the Cape stub). The hallmarks are very well struck, this is a perfect example. A third stub mark, including an anchor, is also depicted in Heller (MM63), this same mark is also present in Morrison...
A beautiful pair of Salters Company silver spoons, with the Salters Company coat of arms, and motto "Sal Sapit Omnia" (salt savours all) on a banner wrapped around the stem. The gilded bowls have a traditional shell design, these are very attractive spoons. The spoons are very good quality, are a good weight, and are perfectly preserved in their original box. The box also has the Salters Company coat of arms and motto on the lid, this is also a good quality box. The Salters Company is one of the 12 great livery companies of London, ranked 9th in order of precedence. Their origins were in the salt trade of medieval London, now they are a charitable organisation, focusing on chemistry. The Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Company was established in 1880 at 112 Regent Street, they amalgamated with Garrards in 1952. As can be seen from the box, they carried the Royal warrant, "By appointment to H.M. the King". The hallmarks on both spoons are very clear.
A very fine Maltese Basting spoon, of good gauge, with an unusually large and deep bowl. The spoon also has a deep lip and point. The hallmarks are clear, being 1855 with a small scratch through it (looks intentional?), the letter R (Maltese mark indicating Roman Fineness, 11 deniers) and the circular makers mark for Geraldo Pace (circular mark with small bird under PACE). A truly lovely spoon. Note - we previously incorrectly attributed this spoon to the Naudi family silversmiths.
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 rare Exeter silver caddy spoon, made by Henry Samuel Ellis, who was only mentioned in the Exeter records in 1853, silver by him is rare (he died in 1878). The spoon has a vine leaf on the front of the handle, and a gilded fluted shell bowl. This is an unusual design, only used by Ellis in 1853 as far as we know (a few 1853 spoons by Ellis have this design, it is now called the HSE trademark leaf terminal - see www.antiquesilverspoons.co.uk and Bonhams - Knowle lot 121, 19/9/2006). The hallmarks are clear, the HSE makers mark is slightly worn at the top. Henry Samuel Ellis was Mayor of Exeter in 1868, his photograph is courtesy of www.exetermemories.co.uk. Henry Ellis and Son, advertised that their spoons were made with silver from the Combe Martin silver mine Story of the Caddy Spoon, 1775-2015, exhibition catalogue, page 35). Combe Martin is in North Devon, the disused silver mines are now a tourist attraction. Silver from Combe Martin was used for items in the crown jewels, it also financed war expenses o...
