A Dutch silver Hanoverian pattern tablespoon and fork, both made in Middelburg in 1771, but by different makers. Both are clearly hallmarked with the Dutch town mark for Middelburg, a double headed crowned eagle, and date letter H FOR 1771, and both have clearly struck makers marks. Both are first grade silver (87.5 %). The tablespoon is by Johannes d'Hoy, and is the traditional Hanoverian shape, with central frontal rib, turn up end, and a long drop. It is a good quality spoon, well made, with some wear from use, and no engraving. It is bottom marked with 3 hallmarks, the town mark and makers mark are clear, the third mark is worn. The makers mark is ID below a theepot (teapot), d'Hoy worked between 1766 and 1786, he was clearly a talented silversmith, examples of his work can be seen in the Rijksmuseum, as well as Museum Boijmans and Utrecht museum. The fork also has a central front rib with turn up end, 4 tines, and also has no engraving. The makers mark of IW above upside down flower could be one of 2 sil...

A rare and interesting Cape silver Masking or Mash spoon, in the Old English pattern. The spoon is teaspoon size but has a much longer handle, these spoons are called Masking or Mash spoons, they were used to stir the teapot. Most of the known Masking spoons are Scottish Provincial in origin, but they are known in the Cape (see S189 for a similar example made by Jan Lotter, cousin of Carel David, which we have sold). The spoon has no engraving, and clear makers mark CDL between 2 star devices (Welz mark 64). Carel David Lotter, part of the Lotter family of Cape silversmiths, worked between 1812 to 1848.

A beautiful Georgian silver Fish slice, also called a long oval server, by one of the leading makers of this type, William Plummer. The server is extensively pierced and engraved with a realistic fish, what makes this server exceptional is that the design is repeated on both sides. The fish is surrounded by flowers and foliage, and is surrounded by a narrow engraved band. The quality of the slice, and in particular the piercing and engraving, is remarkable. The blade is flat, narrow, elliptical and symmetrical, the handle is in line, connected to the blade with a split penny boss. The handle is filled, and has a raised beaded pattern that assists the grip. The penny boss is engraved on 1 side with a family crest, a bulls head holding a spear, above a crown, the engraving is crisp and clear. The hallmarks are clear, including makers mark W.P for William Plummer, Grimwade mark 3255. In an excellent article entitled "English Long Oval Servers" by Dale Bennett, published in Silver Magazine July 2016, page 20, Ben...

A lovely set of 12 Scottish Georgian silver tablespoons in the Old English pattern, made in Edinburgh by Francis Howden in 1807. All 12 spoons have original owners engraved initial B, and each spoon is also engraved with numbers 1 - 12, all the engraving is clearly visible. These are great quality spoons, with strong tips, and a generous size and weight, and their condition is excellent. All 12 spoons have clear hallmarks. Francis Howden was freed in 1781, he was Deacon between 1811 and 1813, he was a highly respected member of the Goldsmiths Incorporation, he established the Widow's fund in 1817 (Source: Silver Made in Scotland, Dalgleish & Fothringham, page 222). He died in 1848 aged 90.

An 18th Century Dutch silver marrow scoop, in the traditional form, with a larger and smaller scoop on either side. The scoop has 5 hallmarks, Amsterdam town mark, Lion Rampant indicating 934 standard, date letter C partially struck (1787), and a partially struck makers mark, first letter H, second letter possibly H. A 5th hallmark which was struck later is also present, a small but clear Gothic T tax stamp. Note - An authority on Dutch silver has now kindly identified this maker as Hermanus Heuvel, we appreciate the assistance. Hermanus Heuvel worked between 1766 and 1810, he is mostly renowned for large scale silver objects but the Rijksmuseum has a miniature silver cupboard on display by Heuvel, (room 0.10 and on the website), this was also made in 1787.

A set of 4 bottom marked Scottish Georgian silver tablespoons in the Old English pattern, made in Edinburgh in 1775 by Patrick Robertson. The spoons are all engraved with original owners initials DJ. The spoons are a pleasing quality and in good condition, with strong bowl tips, they have not seen much use. The spoons have a long drop with engraved ridge. The spoons are all bottom marked, the makers mark PR is very clear on 3 spoons and less clear on the 4th but still visible. As is often the case with bottom marked spoons, the town mark, thistle and date letter are squashed, but still visible on one of the spoons.

A fabulous set of 12 Scottish Provincial tablespoons in the Fiddle pattern, made by Rettie & Son in Aberdeen in 1837, and hallmarked in Edinburgh. The spoons are good quality, and in remarkable condition, they have not been used much, 10 are perfect, 2 have a very small dent to the bowl. The spoons are engraved with original owners initial W. All 12 spoons are clearly hallmarked "R&S A B D" for Rettie and Son, Aberdeen, alongside full Edinburgh hallmarks for 1837, with William IV duty mark. Middleton Rettie and his son William started the business in 1824, supplying quality goods from 151 Union Street to wealthy Aberdeen citizens. They were joined by other brother James in 1847, and traded until 1892. They are known for extremely high quality items (Michael Wilson, Aberdeen Silver, page 56), these spoons are no exception. Note - We have a matching set of dessert spoons S 11346.

A cape silver dessert spoon in the Fiddle pattern, made by Daniel Beets, but with previously unrecorded hallmarks, so a rare spoon. The spoon has no engraving, but the bowl is quite battered, so we can only describe the condition as fair, so this spoon is for hallmarking interest rather than use. The hallmarks include makers mark DB struck twice, interspersed with 3 bird hallmarks, in round punch, this bird punch has only previously been recorded as used by Lawrence Twentyman. As we said this is a rare combination of marks, not recorded in Cape Silver by Welz, where he shows Beets with star and circular devices, but not with the bird punch. Heller shows a Beets mark interspersed with pseudo kings head duty marks, also not shown in Welz, which shows Beets did also occasionally use pseudo punches. Daniel Beets worked between 1812 and 1828, he was the illegitimate son of German Balthus Beets and Cape slave Angana. His son, also Daniel Beets, also practised as a silversmith, but as he probaly used his fathers pu...

An interesting and well travelled Georgian silver butterknife, with carved mother of pearl (nacre) handle. The butterknife has a scimitar shaped solid silver blade, with irregular wavy top, engraved with reeded bands and fan decoration. The handle has carved beads, bands and a fan like structure, this gives a good grip and pleasant feel in the hand. A silver ferrule covers the join between blade and handle. The knife is clearly hallmarked with 5 Birmingham hallmarks, including makers mark LV&W for Ledsam, Vale and Wheeler, this mark used between 1826 (when Wheeler joined Ledsam & Vale) and 1834. The blade also has 3 additional hallmarks, the first a shaped V, a Dutch duty mark for foreign silver used between 1814 -1831, so the knife entered the Netherlands shortly after it was made. The other 2 hallmarks are French, Minerva facing right (guarantee mark for foreign silver) and the Bigorne (beak-iron) mark with insect, used as a counter mark between 1819 and 1838, all these marks are clear. the book "Pocket ...

A private die Scottish silver tablespoon, a rare spoon of fabulous quality, made by leading Glaswegian silversmiths Robert Gray & Sons. The spoon has a die stamped family crest of a stag above a knights helmet, this is beautifully struck. The spoon is a variant of Kings pattern, with hourglass shape and honeysuckle, but the shell on the front has been removed to make place for the family crest. The spoon is double struck, which is unusual for Scottish silver, and the spoon has no shoulders. The spoon is over 100 grammes, so a pleasure to hold and use. The hallmarks are clear, and are accompanied by a star, possibly a journeyman's mark. Private die flatware was individually commissioned with the family crest die-stamped rather than engraved on a stock pattern (Pickford, Silver Flatware, page 173). Most 19th century private die patterns were supplied through Hunt & Roskell to members of the peerage and other wealthy clients. Pickford describes these as "fascinating, but obviously impossible to build into servic...

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 set of 6 Scottish Provincial Oar pattern teaspoons made in Banff circa 1820, 4 by John McQueen and 2 by William Simpson I. The Oar pattern is also called Fiddle without Shoulders (Pickford Silver Flatware page 111), it is a scarce variant only found in Scotland. All 6 teaspoons are engraved with original owners initials JJR, but close inspection of the engraving shows the 2 spoons by Simpson were engraved by a different hand, we presume this was done later to complete a set of Banff teaspoons. You can also see slight differences in the shape of the bowl and Fiddle in the 2 Simpson spoons when compared to the Mcqueen spoons, showing they were all made by hand. The hallmarks on all 6 spoons are good, the 4 McQueen spoons have the stub mark of McQueen - B, A, Scottish Thistle, McQ - mark BF35 in the Directory of Scottish Provincial Silversmiths by Richard Turner, a book we highly recommend. 2 spoons have wear to the B, and one spoon has wear to the McQ, probably a result of uneven punching. The 2 Simpson spoon...

An interesting pair of cast silver sugartongs by Hester Bateman, the most famous 18th century female silversmith, she has also been described as the Queen of British silversmiths. The tongs are bow shaped, with attractive cast silver pierced arms, decorated with foliage, scrolls and flowers, and shell grips. The bow is shaped, and has a cartouche for owners initials, which has not been engraved. The side of the bow has faint remnants of owners initials, P/IM, now very worn. Cast sugartongs followed scissor style sugar nips (also called tea tongs), most date between 1770 and 1780, when they were replaced by standard sugar tongs. Cast sugar tongs were complex to make, the arms were cast separately and then soldered onto the bow (Hodges, Georgian Silver Sugar Tongs, page 11). This particular tongs was made from 5 separate pieces, the bottom thinner portion of the arms were cast separately, all the solder joints are visible. We believe this is how the tongs were originally produced, there is a possibility they we...

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.

A cape silver dessert spoon in the Fiddle pattern, made by Daniel Beets, but with previously unrecorded hallmarks, so a rare spoon. The spoon has no engraving, but the bowl is quite battered, so we can only describe the condition as fair, so this spoon is for hallmarking interest rather than use. The hallmarks include makers mark DB struck twice, interspersed with 3 bird hallmarks, in round punch, this bird punch has only previously been recorded as used by Lawrence Twentyman. As we said this is a rare combination of marks, not recorded in Cape Silver by Welz, where he shows Beets with star and circular devices, but not with the bird punch. Heller shows a Beets mark interspersed with pseudo kings head duty marks, also not shown in Welz, which shows Beets did also occasionally use pseudo punches. Daniel Beets worked between 1812 and 1828, he was the illegitimate son of German Balthus Beets and Cape slave Angana. His son, also Daniel Beets, also practised as a silversmith, but as he probably used his fathers p...

A fabulous quality Georgian silver dinner plate or dish, in the traditional shape with applied gadroon border and contemporary family armorial and Royal coronet indicating a son of the Sovereign. The armorial is the Marital arms of Evans-Freke and Gore, the Royal Cypher is for HRH Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex. Whilst these are called plates, it is more of a dish or bowl in shape, and is the smaller diameter, so probably used for a starter dish - but very suitable for use as a bowl today. It must have belonged to a large set, as the base is engraved "No 64", along with 18.10. The hallmarks are clear, the makers mark has been partially double struck with a partial repeated G and pellet above, but still clearly Grimwade mark 852 for George Methuen. He was freed as a large worker in 1743, he worked until 1761, so this dish was produced in his last year of work. Grimwade notes his principal output was salvers, dinner plates and dishes, and notes "his work shows a high standard of design and finish, i...

A Cape silver tablespoon in the Fiddle pattern, with unascribed maker mark I.D. The spoon has original owners engraved initials, now worn, first letter probably A. The makers mark is very distinctive, I.D in serrated punch, between 2 five pointed stars. This mark is not described in any of the Cape silver textbooks. The reason for ascribing this maker to Cape is that 3 known examples have now appeared, and all were sourced in the Cape, hence the attribution. The first was posted in the WWW.925-1000 silver forum in 2012 by a Cape based South African dealer, where Dognose tentatively ascribed it to American silversmith Jabez Delano (1763-1848), see the post http://9251000.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=31240. The photographs supplied have now been used on the ancestry website for Jabez Delano, in our view in error. A second tablespoon appeared on the website of South Africa's leading silver dealer, The Old Corkscrew, described as Cape but unascribed (we agree), item S373, www.theoldcorkscrew.co.za. This spoon is...

A Cape silver tablespoon in the Old English pattern, with rare Cape hallmarks not shown by Welz in his book "Cape Silver and Silversmiths". The spoon has been well used, and has a small split (see condition description). The spoon has original owners initials CW engraved on it, the C is larger than the W, so probably done by the owner himself (overall quite quaint). The hallmarks consist of makers mark IL co-joined in oval punch, in between 2 "birds foot" devices, these marks are well struck and clear. The IL makers mark is mark 71 Welz, but the birds foot device is not recorded (Lotter also used a floral hallmark which is recorded). However, the birds foot device used by Lotter is recorded by Morrison (Silversmiths and Goldsmiths of the Cape of Good Hope, 1936, page 57, where this makers mark is pictured). A variant of this mark is also recorded by Heller (History of Cape Silver, 1949, page 151, mark MM40, which shows an extra arm to the birds foot). We can only assume this is a rare mark that was not seen b...

A beautiful Dutch silver chestnut vase, possibly made in the late 18th century by Hendrik Jurrien Wolters in Zutphen. The vase is urn shaped, on a stepped and reeded oval base, with matching reeded rim. The lid has an ivory oval baluster finial, capped with a silver ball, and the faint remains of an engraved crest and owners initials. The interior of the lid is gilded. The base interior has no gilding or engraving. The base has 3 hallmarks, cross (possibly Zutphen town mark), head or tree mark (similar to English Georgian duty mark), and makers mark HI or IH, or possibly even HP. We have tentatively identified this as Zutphen, given the similarity of the cross to the Zutphen town mark, and Hendrik Jurrien Wolters, who used a mark HIW (all assistance welcome). Previously this vase was described as Indian Colonial or Cape Silver by a Cape Town based auction house, we prefer the Dutch attribution, we even considered the vase could be Dutch Colonial in origin. This vase was also previously described as a tea cad...

A Scottish Provincial silver toddy ladle in the Celtic Pointed pattern, which was only produced in Scotland and Ireland. The ladle is lovely, long elegant handle with circular bowl, and an original engraved family crest of a crescent. The ladle has 3 hallmarks, makers mark RK in rectanglar punch, Edinburgh 3 tower town mark, and a triple cusped Georgian duty mark. We are not sure if these are official or pseudo hallmarks, the Town mark looks a little suspicious, with irregular punch on top, and it should be accompanied by the thistle and date letter if it was struck in Edinburgh. The duty mark with triple cusp is a well made punch so could be genuine, and the makers mark looks a little crude. It could be Robert Keay of Perth but sent to Edinburgh for assay, but we feel these marks are suspicious, so possibly Robert Keay using pseudo marks or another silversmith altogether. Most Robert Keay silver has his eagle mark, but he did sent some silver to Edinburgh for assay. He is known to have used a triple cusp dut...