A Chinese Export silver tablespoon, in the Fiddle and Thread pattern, with pseudo hallmarks. The spoon is lovely quality, quite heavy at 88 grammes, a pleasure to hold. It has no initials or crest, and no sign of them being removed. The hallmarks are clear, and include pseudo sterling lion, crowned leopards head (with a large grin, which gives it away), date letter L used by Linchong, and pseudo Georgian duty mark. Linchong worked from New China Street, Canton, between 1800 and 1850

A rare Chinese Export silver tablefork, in the Fiddle pattern, with excellent hallmarks, they could not be better. The hallmarks include pseudo sterling lion, pseudo crowned leopard's head, makers mark "YS" and pseudo Georgian duty mark. Yatshing silver is always "of a high standard" (www.chineseexportsilver.com), this fork is no exception.

A Chinese Export (or China Trade silver) silver tablespoon, with excellent pseudo hallmarks. The spoon is Fiddle pattern, and has an attractive and well engraved family crest, a Lion's head erased, which is contemporary. The hallmarks include pseudo sterling lion, pseudo crowned leopard's head, date letter "C', and pseudo Georgian duty mark. We have tentatively ascribed these marks to Cutshing, we would welcome other opinions. These marks are typical of the pseudo English marks deliberately created by Chinese silversmiths, for the export market. Cutshing are "widely recognised as producing some of the finest silver from the early China Trade period (1785-1840)" - www.chinese-export-silver.com, article on Cutshing.

A set of 5 Cape Silver tablespoons in the Fiddle pattern, with initials GHJ which are clearly engraved. The spoons have a chamfered edge (very Continental in style), and all 5 spoons have clear hallmarks (Welz mark 135). The marks include crowned leopards head, date letter a, duty mark and lion passant.

A rare Cape Silver lemoen lepel (orange spoon) and matching konfyt fork (preserve), we have not encountered a matching set before, none are recorded in the Cape silver reference books. The spoon is the traditional elegant lemoen lepel shape, with narrow, pointed boat shaped bowl, v shaped drop, and triangular terminal. The matching fork has 4 tines, both feature traditional Cape prick engraving with a 4 petalled flower. Both are clearly hallmarked with makers mark IC in rectangular punch with canted corners for Johannes Combrink, and also are punched with initials IFS, we assume the original owner. Welz describes orange spoons as"probably the most attractive type of spoon made at the Cape, derived from Dutch spoons", pg 95. He also notes that all known examples are by Cape born silversmiths of the early 19th century (so not made by the more prolific English immigrants who arrived after 1815). Heller, in his book History of Cape Silver, describes orange spoons as "exquisite". Johannes Combrink of the famous Co...

A rare Cape silver mustard spoon, in the Fiddle pattern with gilded bowl, and excellent hallmarks. This is a lovely, well made spoon, with a marked angle at the drop, and pleasing proportions. The hallmarks include makers mark JT in damaged punch (Welz mark 123), and 4 pseudo marks (Georgian duty, lion passant, date letter a and tree mark). Heller does record Cape made salt and mustard spoons, and depicts 6 salt spoons in his book "History of Cape Silver" (pg 202, plate 67). Cape mustard spoons appear to be be much rarer than salt spoons, this is the only known example we have encountered. Note: We have now acquired an additional 3 Cape silver mustard spoons by John Townsend, see S 1971 (pair) and S 11082, which brings the total of known Cape silver mustard spoons to 4, all by Townsend.

Extremely rare marrow spoon (as opposed to the commomer marrow scoops), with a lovely shellback. Hallmarks are very distinct. Bennett was a well regarded silversmith who worked on London Bridge.

A rare Irish provincial silver toddy ladle made in Cork, but hallmarked in Dublin. The ladle is circular with a lip for pouring, and has a whale bone handle. The ladle is beautifully decorated, with embossed flowers, leaves and scrolls, on a stippled background. The pouring lip is decorated with a "sunburst" collar. The decoration is typical of the Irish silver of the 1820 period, with floral repousse (embossing) on a background stippled to a matt finish (Bennett, Collecting Irish Silver, pg 79). The whalebone handle is 4 sided, and has an unusual knop end, the circular knob set above silver banded decoration. The hallmarks are all very clear, including makers mark PG in oval outline (Cork mark no. 80 in Bennett). The Dublin Goldsmiths company passed an act in 1807 requiring the Kings head to be stamped on all plate made in Ireland. As this could only be done in Dublin, it forced the provincial goldsmiths to start sending silver to Dublin for hallmarking. Garde, who worked in Cork between 1812 and 1845, appe...

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 ...

A pair of Cape silver Fiddle pattern konfyt (preserve) forks, with 4 tines, by Johannes Combrink. Both forks have excellent hallmarks, maker mark IC between 2 devices (possibly pomegranite?), see Cape Silver by Welz, mark 27, pg 147 - although on these forks the device has been reversed, with ball on inside, showing Cape silversmiths were not too concerned how hallmarks were struck. Johnannes Combrink worked between 1814 and 1853, he was a fine silversmith who produced good quality work.

A Cape silver teaspoon, in the Fiddle pattern, by Johannes Combrink. The spoon has original owners initials HV engraved on the stem, the engraving is most attractive. The teaspoon has an unusual drop with incised curve. The spoon is marked with makers mark IC (Welz mark 30, Cape Silver, pg 147), this is very well struck and clear. Note faint scratch mark JER near hallmark, we presume a previous owner, visible in photo, not really visible normally unless you look close in good light.

A Cape silver Fiddle pattern tablespoon, with a set of extremely rare Cape silver hallmarks. The hallmarks include makers mark LT, and pseudo marks that include date letter A, lyre and duty mark. These marks are shown by Welz in his book Cape Silver (mark 144, page 156), they are also shown by David Heller in his book History of Cape Silver (mark MM84, page 156). The makers mark, A and lyre mark are well struck and very clear, the duty mark is worn at the top. The date letter A is quite distinctive, with one arm much thicker than the other.

A pair of Cape silver dessert forks in the Kings pattern, by Fredrik Waldek. The forks are very good quality and gauge, but a little shorter than usual. The forks are double struck (pattern on both sides), and have the diamond heel, as is usual with Cape silver Kings pattern. Cape silver in Kings pattern is quite rare, it was only produced by 2 silversmiths, Twentyman and Waldek, who took over Twentyman's business. The hallmarks are very clear on both forks, and include pseudo Georgian duty, date letter a and crowned leopard's head, along with makers mark FW, which is slightly worn. The forks have no monograms or engraving, and none has been removed. Waldek had a long career as a Cape silversmith, chronometer, clockmaker and jeweller, he worked between 1830 and 1877. He took over Twentyman's shop and partnership on Heerengracht in 1836. The forks have shorter stems than other examples, see S 1866 for a comparative example.

A set of 2 Cape silver dessert forks in the Kings pattern, one by Lawrence Twentyman and the other by Fredrik Waldek. These forks match S 1864 and S 1865, we have put these 2 together to show an unusual variance in length. Whilst both are Cape Kings pattern dessert forks, they have a 1.2 cm difference in length (the shorter fork is also lighter, 54 vs 62 grammes). The difference is the stem only, the decoration top and bottom is identical, as are the length of tines. It is believed that Twentyman imported dies for Kings pattern to the Cape circa 1830 and that Waldek took over the dies in 1836, but we cannot explain the difference in length, all suggestions welcome. We have carefully studied the forks, there is no evidence they have been lengthened or shortened. The forks are double struck (pattern on both sides), and have the diamond heel, as is usual with Cape silver Kings pattern. Cape silver in Kings pattern is quite rare, it was only produced by these 2 silversmiths, Twentyman and Waldek, who took over T...

A pair of Cape silver dessert forks in the Kings pattern, by Lawrence Twentyman. The forks are very good quality and gauge, a pleasure to hold. The forks are double struck (pattern on both sides), and have the diamond heel, as is usual with Cape silver Kings pattern. Cape silver in Kings pattern is quite rare, it was only produced by 2 silversmiths, Twentyman and Waldek, who took over Twentymans business. The hallmarks are very clear on both forks, and include pseudo lion passant, Georgian duty, date letter a and crowned leopard's head, along with makers mark LT. The forks have no monograms or engraving, and none has been removed.

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 Cape silver basting (or serving) spoon in the Fiddle pattern, by Willem Godfried Lotter, one of the members of the famous Lotter family of Cape silversmiths. The spoon is engraved with initials CIT in fancy script, this is original. This is a good solid spoon, very suitable for use, the bowl is a good gauge and the tip is excellent. The hallmarks are clear, and consist of makers mark WGL between 2 diamond devices (actually square with a cross in the middle), mark 89 in Cape Silver by Stephan Welz. Willem Lotter worked between 1810 and 1835, his work is represented in the Paarl musuem. David Heller (History of Cape Silver) regarded Lotter as one of the top Cape silversmiths.

An interesting Cape silver snuff box, an unusual convex shape which gives it a lovely feel in the hand and pocket. The box has a part hinged lid, as is usual with this form, with just a slight overlap creating the thumbpiece. The decoration is typically Cape, a 8 petalled flower with wrigglework border, which is extremely well preserved due to the shape of the lid. The box also has original owners engraved initials AWJP, also with wrigglework border. The hinge is also decorated with cross hatch engraving. The original gilt interior is a lemon yellow colour, and the IC makers mark struck in the lid is very clear and distinct ( Welz mark 32). Convex shaped snuff boxes, given the more challenging construction in relation to the rectangular boxes, are rare in the Cape, this demonstrates that Combrink was a master craftsman.

A matching set of crested Georgian silver flatware, including 12 tablespoons, 2 sauce ladles, 2 saltspoons and butterknife, all of very good gauge and quality. The pattern is Fiddle and Thread, and all pieces have an interesting double crest, indicating a marriage between 2 noble families. The first crest is of a head and shoulders of a bearded man with unruly hair, the second a raised fist holding a halbeard. The saltspoons have gilded bowls to prevent corrosion. The butterknife is a later addition to the set (made in 1895), and only has the bearded man crest. The makers mark on the butterknife has been removed, possibly to allow the retailer to overstamp. Chawner was a prolific spoonmaker, he ran a large workshop of journeymen, whose individual marks can be seen on the spoons (devices include stars, bars, circles and triangles).

A rare Philadelphia coin silver teaspoon, in the American Fiddle pattern, made by John Townsend. The spoon has original owners script initials engraved on both sides, ALH on the front and AH on the back. The makers mark J.TOWNSEND in rectangular punch is clearly struck, this is a rare makers mark, not illustrated in the book "Philadelphia Silversmiths and related Artisans to 1861", by Catherine Hollan, which has over 3800 entries. The punch itself is interesting, the letters are not quite properly aligned, with the E lower than the S, so perhaps the punch itself was home made. John Townsend was born in 1789 in Pennsylvania, he was listed as a jeweller, clockmaker and watchmaker, he worked between 1811 and 1860. His son John K Townsend was born in 1809, he practised as a watchmaker and dentist, first in Philadelphia and later in Washington. Philadelphia was the largest silver market in the USA between 1760 and 1820. Our interest in this particular spoon is that Townsend shares a name with Cape Silversmith John...