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 set of 5 Fiddle pattern Cape silver tableforks, made by Willem Lotter. The forks are quite long and elegant, with bevelled edges, quite attractive and pleasing quality. All 5 forks are struck with makers mark WGL in irregular punch between 2 oval devices (Welz mark 88). Welz depicts this mark as a face, we are not convinced, this requires further research. Willem Gotfried Lotter worked between 1810 and 1835, his father (also Willem Gotfried) was also a silversmith, they shared the same punches. Lotter died in Richmond, which was established as a spa town for sufferers of tuberculosis.

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.

Delightful grape scissors with a fox amongst grapes and vines, definitely the nicest grape scissors we have ever seen. The handles are cast, with the design repeated on both sides. Both arms are clearly hallmarked. The shears are all silver, with no steel inserts. These scissors are still in their original box. James Edward Hutton joined his father's firm (William Hutton & Sons) in 1880. The firm supplied many leading retailers, including the Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Co, Mappin and Webb, and Neill Ltd of Ireland.

A lovely and early George II double lipped punch ladle, with twisted whalebone handle, of extremely good quality. It is a good gauge and weight, much heavier than many we have seen. The bowl is fluted and is a generous size, and is joined to the handle with a double scroll. The base of the ladle is engraved "G over J+E", the engraving is contemporary and done by hand. The hallmarks are clear, and include the unregistered makers mark EA (Grimwade 3534) with 2 dots above and 1 below. Whalebone was heated under pressure with steam until malleable, and then twisted into ornate spirals, which hardened and retained their design after cooling (Helliwell, Collecting Small Silverware, pg 76). Aldridge worked between 1724 and 1765 in Foster Lane. He was tried at the investigation of the Goldsmith's Company for counterfeiting marks in 1742, but was acquitted by the jury (Grimwade pg 421).

A magnificent Scottish Georgian silver punch ladle, by one of the finest Scottish silversmiths of the period. The ladle has a circular bowl, finely decorated with bunches of grapes and vine leaves, the decoration is truly a work of art. The ladle has a lip which is also decorated, similar to a gadroon pattern. The handle is held in place with a traditional heart shaped plaque, this has a previous owners initials lightly scratched into it, hardly visible but a nice addition. The silver handle is also decorated with grapes and vine leaf. The original handle is wood, which has been turned into an attractive shape. The ladle is finished with a silver knob and cap, also decorated in the same fine grape and vine pattern. The ladle is a generous size and weight, is very good quality, and is in superb condition. The hallmarks are very slightly worn but still clearly visible, and include the Glasgow town mark, lion rampant, date letter G, duty mark and makers mark RG&S. Robert Gray worked in Glasgow from 1776, adding ...

An antique silver nutcracker, quite a rare item as nutcrackers are usually silver plate, occasionally with silver handles, this example is solid silver, so quite an extravagance in it's day. The nutcracker is the usual form, with 2 handles connected with an extremely strong hinge, the arms are reversible, so can be turned around to accommodate different sized nuts. The cracking portion is oval in shape, with textured sides to hold nut firmly in place, with rectangular hole to allow shell to pass through. The handles are rounded, with balls on the ends. These are good quality nutcrackers, quite heavy at just under 200 grammes, and very suitable for use. Both arms and the hinge are clearly hallmarked. William Comyns & Sons was an important firm of manufacturing silversmiths, established in 1859, they supplied many of the leading retailers, including Tiffany, Thornhills of New Bond Street, and Carringtons, Wilson & Gill and Goldsmiths & Silversmiths of Regent Street (Culme, Directory of Gold and Silversmiths, pa...

A very rare set of 6 sterling silver shellfish (or lobster) forks, we have never seen another set. The forks have 2 sharp and longer tines, with a third shorter and fatter tine, this tine also has a sharp edge for cutting. The forks are engraved with Gothic initial "B". This very specific design, for a very specific purpose, we believe to be extremely rare, nothing similar is recorded in the book "Silver Flatware" by Ian Pickford, who depicts and describes a great variety of silver eating implements. The forks are good quality, and as mentioned above, in excellent condition - they are so appealing I am tempted to go and purchase a lobster straight away so I can test them! All 6 forks are clearly hallmarked with Sheffield marks for 1931, and distinctive makers mark W&G in wavy topped escutcheon punch (Poole, Identifying Antique British Silver, pg 15), this maker worked between 1907 and 1941, possibly Wilson and Gill (www.britishmakersmarks.co.uk). The original box has the retailers mark "T.S. Cuthbert, Watch ...

A magnificent Cape silver gravy (also called basting or serving) spoon, in the Kings pattern, double struck with diamond heel. It has a lovely weight and is very good quality, this is one of the most substantial Cape silver spoons we have seen, and is suitable for regular use - in fact a spoon anyone would enjoy using. The hallmarks are very clear, makers mark LT for Lawrence Twentyman, and pseudo English hallmarks (leopards head, duty mark, date letter a and lion) - Welz mark 135, but in a different order. 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 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 set of Cape silver tableforks in the Fiddle pattern, by the well known Cape silversmith Johannes Combrink. The forks are engraved with the initials "FtW", which is attractively engraved. The forks are good quality and a pleasing weight, they are suitable for use. The hallmarks on all 6 forks are clear. Four forks have makers mark IC only (Welz mark 31 in Cape Silver), two have makers mark IC between 2 ladder devices (Welz mark 33). Johannes Combrink was born in the Cape in 1781, he married Aurelia Lotter in 1807 and died in 1853. He worked from Dorp Street.

A set of 6 Gorham sterling silver dessert sized forks in the Strasbourg pattern, first launched in 1897. The forks are fabulous quality, as you would expect from Gorham, and are in excellent condition and without any monograms or engraving. The forks have 4 tines, these would be described as salad forks in the USA. The beautiful and graceful Strasbourg pattern is inspired by French rococo style, with a series of different sized scrolls, with shells on the finials and heels. Strasbourg, designed by William Codman who was Gorham's chief designer from 1891-1914, is described by Gorham as "one of the best loved of all Gorham designs", and according to Pinterest it was used on Air Force One, (U.S. Presidents aeroplane). All 6 forks are clearly hallmarked with the Gorham lion, anchor and gothic G, alongside STERLING and PAT. 1897. They also have an additional T hallmark, we believe this was used briefly by Gorham at the turn of the century, to denote a specific weight (T for Trade, H for Heavy). Gorham Corporatio...

A set of 6 Georgian silver dessert forks in the Old English pattern, made by the delightfully named Samuel Godbehere, with his partner Edward Wigan. The forks are good quality and a pleasing weight. The forks have a beautifully engraved family crest of a sun in splendour, very intricate with about 50 sunbursts, this is quality engraving. The sun in splendour crest was used by a number of families, all assistance welcome. All 6 forks have clear hallmarks, including makers mark SG/EW which was used between 1787 and 1800.

Impressive set of good quality Russian flatware, with an applied crest of what appears to be a basket of flowers over a shield, bearing the initials ES. They are of very good gauge, the individual spoons and forks weigh 80 grams each, the knives 130 grams each. The set was made in two different batches 2 years apart, the first 6 (2 of each) was made by Cyprian Labecki in 1883, the second 6 by C.H. Stern in 1885. All were assayed in Warsaw, Poland (which was part of Russia between 1850 and 1915) by O.C. (Josef Sosnkowski), who was the assaymaster in Warsaw between 1860 and 1896. The hallmarks are all clear, the 6 by Labecki have an additional hallmark of a bulls head, the 6 by Stern have a device that looks like a rams head. The knives are silver handled with steel blades (blades by Gerlach and S. Bienkowski). The hallmarks on the spoons and forks are very clear, those on the knife handles are present but worn (still discernable).

A lovely set of 5 18th century Dutch silver Hanoverian pattern 3 pronged forks, with a matching 6th fork made slightly later by another maker, we assume to replace a loss shortly after they were made. The forks are quite plain and elegant, with turn down ends, and a prominent drop and pip, the "Amsterdam Lofje", characteristic of spoons and forks from Amsterdam. The forks have no engraving or monograms. All the forks have makers mark HK in script for Hendrik Kamerlingh II, who worked between 1730 and 1776, and Amsterdam town mark (crown above 3 crosses). The 6th fork has makers mark HO for Hendrik Overhulsman, who worked between 1790 and 1811, also with Amsterdam town mark. All 6 makers and town marks are slightly squashed, this is usual on 18th century bottom marked flatware as the spoon maker would have re-hammered the stems after return from the assay office, as the stem would bulge when the marks were struck. All 6 forks have an additional hallmark, V in shield under a crown, this is a Dutch tax mark used...

A set of six Victorian Scottish silver spoons, with matching tongs, in a Grecian pattern variant, not present in the book Silver Flatware by Ian Pickford, so we believe to be rare. The spoons can best be described as very large teaspoons, but definitely more suitable for eating dessert. The spoons and tongs have original owners engraved initials CS in fancy script. The pattern is very similar to Grecian, but noticeable differences include a shell at the top of the stem, and small beads as a border of the stem. The pattern is single struck, as is usual for Scottish flatware. Grecian pattern is a mid 19th century pattern, first exhibited by George Adams of Chawner & Co. at the Great Exhibition of 1851, the pattern is also present in the Chawner pattern book (pages 144, 145 and 218 of Pickford book above). The hallmarks are excellent on all 7 items, they could not be clearer, and include the Glasgow town mark with tree and fish. Robert Scott worked from Buchanan Street, Glasgow between 1849 and 1927. We really l...

A set of three Georg Jensen serving implements in the Old Danish # 100 pattern (Dobbelt Triflet) pattern, including serving spoon, gravy ladle and meat fork. The pattern has "undulating outlines and a pair of incised parallel lines, square bowls, the overall proportions are reminiscent of much earlier flatware designs, as the name Old Danish implies" Georg Jensen, A Tradition of Splendid Silver, page 269). The serving spoon is medium sized, the gravy ladle has a deep bowl, and the elegant meat fork has 2 tines. All 3 items are clearly hallmarked "Georg Jensen Sterling Denmark", the mark used after 1945. The Old Danish pattern was designed in 1947 by Harald Nielsen, the Artistic Director who took over from Jensen on his death, "his flatware designs Pyramid and Old Danish remain Jensen favorites (page 57 book above).

A Cape silver Basting spoon in the Old English pattern, of good gauge, very suitable for use. Whilst the spoon is Old English pattern, the drop is definitely not English in style, it has a European flavour (which shows the different influences on Cape Silversmiths of the time). The hallmarks are very clear, makers mark WGL struck twice, and the inverted L device used by Lotter (mark 95 in Welz). The Lotter family are important in the history of Cape silver, with 12 members of the family known to have produced silver. Willem Godfried, who made this spoon, worked from 1810 - 1835, and is known for good quality work.

A magnificent set of unusual silver gilt cast teaspoons and sugartongs, all of exceptional quality, in original silk lined leather box. Each individual spoon is a replica of an earlier spoon design, covering 300 years of spoon history. They include (as best we can identify): 1. Moors head, twisted stem 2. Onslow with flowers 3. Bearded monks head (Rococo) 4. Pierced handle (rare 18th century design) 5. Apostle spoon. pilgrims staff and book 6. Bacchus (Roman clothes) holding wine goblet 7. Stag with antlers 8. Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, dancing with tambourine 9. The devil, with horns 10. Warrior with raised arm, helmet and brestplate 11. Angels head (blowing clouds?) 12. Cherub's head, ornate stem 13. (Sugartongs) Cupid with wings. Manoah Rhodes was established in Bradford, Yorkshire in 1836, Thomas Ackroyd Rhodes was appointed Managing Director in 1888. He lived in Frizinghall and Thornbury in Bradford. They also had premises in Hatton Gardens, London. They were Diamond merchants, Goldsmiths ...

An extremely rare Cape konfyt (preserve) fork with tubular handle, with typically Cape prick engraving of foliage at the top of the handle. No hallmarks are present. The handle is similar to the Cannon handle pattern of early English flatware. Similar forks are illustrated in Heller's History of Cape Silver (Vol 2, pg 82) and Welz's Cape Silver (pg 68), these are by Johannes Combrink.