A magnificent 18th Century Dutch silver sugar caster (strooibus), made in The Hague in 1761 by Pieter van der Kruyf. The caster is large, just under 24 cm, and heavy at 511 grammes, the quality is superlative, this is a museum quality piece. The caster is the traditional baluster shape, but the main body has four twisted ribs, beginning at the foot, which swirl upwards, a very pleasing design feature. The roughly octagonal and cast base has 4 raised leaf like designs. The caster lid also has an attractive design, with very intricate piercings (rococo scrolls) and textured engraving. The finial is a cast flower bud. The hallmarks on the caster lid are clear, crowned lion rampant standard mark (fineness 934), The Hague (Den Haag or S Gravenhage) city mark (stork holding eel below coronet), date letter P crowned for 1761, all 3 of the marks are well struck. The 4th mark is makers mark PK in rectangular punch, the P is worn but the K is clear. There are no hallmarks on the base. A very similar sugar caster, made ...

A rare early Cape Silver three pronged fork, in the Hanoverian pattern. The fork is a lovely shape, long and elegant, with long tines. The fork has makers mark DHS, with some wear but clearly visible, along with a bunch of grapes with vine leaves in a circular punch (mark 109 in Cape Silver by Welz). This fork also has a small Dutch ZII hallmark, for 835 purity, indicating the spoon was imported into the Netherlands at some stage. The fork also has a small owners cross hatch scratch mark next to the makers mark. Three pronged forks were common in the early 18th century, they were gradually replaced by 4 prongs after 1760, perhaps a little later in the colonies, but we believe this dates to the early part of Schmidt's career. Schmidt arrived in the Cape from Strelitz, Germany, as a soldier in 1768. He worked as a sword cutler for the Dutch East India Company, and became a burgher and silversmith in 1779. He died in 1811 (Cape Silver by Welz, pg 139). He is described by David Heller (in his book History of Cape...

A rare pair of Prince of Wales' feathers picture back teaspoons, in the Hanoverian pattern, with Prince of Wales' feathers to the reverse of the bowl. The crown is well struck and clear, the feathers less well struck with some wear, but still clearly visible. As is typical for a teaspoon of the period, these Hanoverian pattern spoons are struck with two marks - lion passant and maker's mark. All the marks are squashed, the maker's mark could be W*L or possibly I*M, depending on which way you read the marks (all assistance welcome), with mullet between the letters. The spoons have no engraving, and are in great condition with just minor wear to the picture back. The motif on the back of the bowl probably commemorates the life of Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales (1707-1751) and heir apparent to the English throne. He was the eldest and estranged son of King George II, but he pre-deceased his father and so the crown passed instead to his eldest son who became George III. John Luddington, in his book "Startin...

An Irish Georgian silver pair of sugartongs, decorated in bright cut engraving, and featuring the rare "Dublin Bow" engraved on both arms. The tongs are lovely quality and a good weight, they have shell grips, concave arms, and are slightly longer and heavier than their English counterparts (See Hodges, Georgian Silver Sugar Tongs, page 197, where he also states that Irish tongs of this period are beautifully made, with distinctive bright cut engraving, commanding prices 2 to 3 times more than English equivalents). The tongs are engraved with original owners initials ER in script. Bright cut engraving was popular in Ireland between 1790 and 1800, the bright cut glitters in candlelight, the Bow pattern is much rarer than the Dublin Star pattern, the Star, Bow and Prince of Wales Feathers (unique to Limerick) are unique to Irish silver. The hallmarks are clear, under the bow, makers mark BT in serrated punch for Taitt who worked between 1784 and 1791, and Irish harp and Hibernia in rounded punch used before 17...

A set of 4 Irish Georgian dessert spoons, bottom marked, with excellent hallmarks on all 4 spoons. The spoons are Old English pattern, and have an engraved family crest of an armoured arm holding a dagger, this engraving is crisp and clear. Bottom marked hallmarks, used before 1790, are seldom clear, they are often squashed, these marks are excellent. They include makers mark IK in rectangular punch with rounded corners, and without dot, according to Douglas Bennett, in his book Collecting Irish Silver, this mark could belong to 3 different silversmiths, John Kavanagh (1783-1819), John Kelly (1780-1794) or James Kennedy (1768-1803), all three of which fall in the date range. More research is required on these makers, the makers mark on these spoons are very clear.

A Dutch silver ribber Hanoverian tablespoon, with interesting hallmarks. The spoon has a pronounced frontal rib, the drop is rounded with a V shaped decoration, and the spoon has original owners engraved initials Ch.I on the back of the spoon, unusually engraved upside down (not sure if this is a Dutch custom?). Six hallmarks are present, all clearly struck and very clear. They include makers mark AI around anchor in shaped punch for Anthonie Janse, who worked in Middelburg between 1787 and 1823 (sources Netherlands Responsibility Marks since 1797, mark 727, and Zeeuw Zilver). The next hallmark is date letter C for 1810, followed by Castle in oval punch, the townmark for Middelburg, only used between 1807 and 1812 during the Kingdom of Holland period (source Voet, Nederlandse Zilvermerken 1445-1951, page 16), so this is a rare townmark. The next hallmark is 10, the standard mark for silver 10 Penningen, also only used 1807-1812, Kingdom of Holland. The 5th mark is crown above co-joined TE, a tax free census m...

A lovely pair of Early Georgian Hanoverian dessert or Child's spoons, made by the leading Huguenot spoonmaker of his day. The spoons are nicely proportioned, and have a double drop. The spoons are engraved on the back (as is usual for this period) with an interesting original family armorial, an Eagle wearing crown, clutching a quarter circle (sextant?) in its talon. The spoons are bottom marked, as is usual for this period, as a result the hallmarks are slightly squashed but still clearly legible, including makers mark PH under acorn for Paul Hanet. The date letter K is also clear, in unusual square outline (only K and M, 1725 and 1727, are not in Norman Shield, the only anomalies between 1561 and 1739), the second spoon is 1726, these hallmarks are worn but still discenable. Paul Hanet is described by Grimwade (London Goldsmiths, page 532) "from the evidence of the survival of pieces bearing his mark, Hanet was clearly one of the principal Huguenot spoonmakers of his day". Hanet entered his first London mar...

A mixed set of 6 Irish silver tablespoons, all with excellent hallmarks. 3 spoons are Old English pattern (a matching pair by John Pittar, 1779, bottom marked, with worn shellbacks, and a spoon by Michael Keating, 1799), and 3 are Fiddle pattern (1805 by J.S, 1812 by Richard Sawyer and 1832 by Samuel Neville, this last spoon has a rat-tail. 3 spoons have engraved family crest, 2 spoons have engraved initials, and one spoon has not been engraved. All 6 spoons have well struck and clear Dublin hallmarks, and clear makers marks.

A Cape silver konfyt fork in the Fiddle pattern, with 3 tines. The fork is quite colonial in character, the tines have slightly different thicknesses, overall a little crude but clearly hand made. The fork has makers mark DBD between 2 five pointed stars (Welz mark 44), this is clearly struck with slight wear along the top. Dominique Baudouin Du Moulin worked between 1818 and 1833, he arrived in the Cape from Brabant (now Belgium) and married the sister of Cape silversmith Johannes Hendricus Beyleveld (Cape Silversmiths by Welz, page 131.). His work is only found occasionally.

A rare early Cape Silver spoon, in the Hanoverian pattern. The spoon is a lovely shape, long and elegant. The spoon has makers mark DHS, with some wear but clearly visible, along with a bunch of grapes with vine leaves in a circular punch (mark 109 in Cape Silver by Welz). The spoon also has a small Dutch ZII hallmark, for 835 purity, indicating the spoon was imported into the Netherlands at some stage. The spoon also has a small owners cross hatch scratch mark next to the makers mark. Schmidt arrived in the Cape from Strelitz, Germany, as a soldier in 1768. He worked as a sword cutler for the Dutch East India Company, and became a burgher and silversmith in 1779. He died in 1811 (Cape Silver by Welz, pg 139). He is described by David Heller (in his book History of Cape Silver) as the "greatest Cape silversmith". Heller goes so far to describe Schmidt as a "master craftsman, whose work can be compared to Paul Storr" (History of Cape Silver, pg 79). Note - we have two matching forks, S 11124 and S11125.

An interesting and rare early vinaigrette, the grille of the vinaigrette does not have a hinge, but fits as a snug cap which can be completely removed. The vinaigrette is oval in shape, the grille is plain with irregular punch holes with no pattern, the grille and interior of the vinaigrette are gilded. The grille has a small thumbpiece on one side, this fits into concave opening in the side of the vinaigrette base. Close examination of the vinaigrette shows no sign of hinge removal, we are confident it was originally made to be a removable grille without hinge. The gilding is a lemon colour, with some scratches and imperfections. The original sponge is present. The hallmarks on the lid are very clear, and include date letter X for 1795, lion passant and makers mark T.W in oval punch. The hallmarks on the base include a very clear maker mark, good anchor town mark and partial duty mark. Thomas Willmore was the patriarch of the Willmore Genealogy, one of the leading families of Birmingham toy makers, known fo...

A pair of Georgian silver wine labels, engraved for Gin and Rum, made by Thomas Phipps and Edward Robinson in 1792. The labels are rectangular but with very pronounced cut corners, which gives them an octagonal shape. They also have a double reeded border. Both are hand engraved, the Gin with incisions emphasizing the engraving and the Rum with black infill. Both labels have very clear hallmarks, makers mark T.P/E.R in indented puch, this mark was used by Phipps & Robinson between 1790 and 1805. The Georgian duty mark has excellent detail, the remaining marks are sterling lion passant and date letter r for 1792, no town mark is present. Rectangular wine labels remained pure rectangles for about 20 years until 1787, when cut corners started to appear. Phipps & Robinson, along with Hester Batemand and James Hyde, were leaders of the new style (Wine Labels 1730-2003, page 50). Phipps & Robinson were one of the best known firms in London for wine labels, known for their high quality of workmanship and innovative ...

Note - The Delft spoon has been sold, only the Amsterdam spoon is available. Price listed is for Amsterdam spoon only. Two 18th century Dutch silver Memorial or Figural spoons, very similar in style so we have grouped them together. Both spoons have figures mounted on pedestals, auricular style triangular handles, rudimentary rat tails and deep gilded spoon bowls (deep lemon colour). The first spoon from Amsterdam has a figure holding a long implement with notches (all suggestions welcome), and has a hole under his arm (possibly a missing piece?). The handle or stem is triangular, with zig zag scratches, the 4 hallmarks grouped on back of bowl at left side are clear (as is usual for Amsterdam spoons of this period). The marks include makers mark JS in oval punch (very clear), for Johannes Selling, date letter V (1780), Dutch purity lion for first grade (934) silver, and Amsterdam town mark. The spoon has a later well struck mark struck in the bowl, the axe or hatchet mark, used between 1853 ...

A rat tail Hanoverian pattern tablespoon, with clear hallmarks. The spoon the traditional rat tail used before 1730, the Hanoverian rib on the front of the stem, and original owners engraved initials W*C on the back of the stem, as is usual for 18th century spoons. 3 hallmarks are very clear, the crowned leopards head has excellent detail. The makers mark W.S in oval punch is partially worn, the W slightly worn. William Soame was freed in 1720, he was a largeworked, he died in 1772, after being retired "many years". (Grimwade page 665, mark 3295).

A great quality early Georgian Hanoverian tablespoon, with excellent hallmarks. The spoon has no engraving, a long (almost double) drop, and a long elegant shaped bowl. The spoon is 70 grammes, so quite heavy, quite pleasing to hold. All 4 hallmarks are excellent, which is unusual as the marks are often squashed on these early spoons. They include lion passant and leopards head crowned, both with good detail, date letter d for 1739 and makers mark P.R in script, under shell in oval, in unusual punch shape, (Grimwade mark 2229), described as "domed grooveform" (Poole, Identifying British Silver, page 15). Philip Roker was born in 1693, apprenticed to specialist spoonmaker Joseph Barbutt in 1707, and freed in 1720 (so an unusually long apprenticeship). he worked in Westminster and Greenwich as a largeworker and spoonmaker, until his death in 1757. He used this mark between 1739 and 1743. His father and sons were also silversmiths.

A fabulous cast silver vine leaf wine label, pierced for Sherry, made by Benjamin Smith II for Rundell & Bridge. The label is single leaf, symmetrical in design, with textured finish, with a vine branch for attachment to the chain. The label is large and heavy, at 41 grammes one of the heaviest we have encountered. Most vine leaf labels are stamped from dies, and as such are much lighter. The book "Wine Labels 1730 -2003" notes that "Philip Rundell and Benjamin Smith III produced elegant cast symmetrical leaf labels" (page 90), and they depict a similar label, for Burgundy (fig 342, page 91), but with different vine stem design. The hallmarks are clear for 1832, no town mark is present. The makers mark BS in rectangular shield is clearly visible, but slightly obscured by the underlying texture of the leaf. This is mark 230 in Grimwade "London Goldsmiths" for Benjamin Smith II, different in shape and style from the marks used by Benjamin Smith III, his son, so at odds with quote from Wine Labels above. Benjami...

A very interesting (and large) Odd Fellows antique silver medallion or pendant, with a central Brittannia surrounded by a laurel wreath, in silver, on blue (enamel?) background, covered by glass. The oval medallion is engraved "VOTED BY THE YARMOUTH BRITANNIC LODGE OF ODD FELLOWS TO G. BOATWRIGHT P.G. 29 MARCH 1843". This is surrounded by an attractive engraved chain, the border is also engraved. The hallmarks are clear, and include the distinctive J.D makers mark with indented corners (Grimwade 3421). Dallinger was an engraver, lithographer and copper plate maker, he first worked in Ipswitch from 1824 and moved to Norwich in 1829 when he made this medallion. He is known as a maker of Odd Fellow regalia. The Odd Fellows is a Fraternal Society promoting philanthropy and charity, it dates back to 1745 and still exists today.

A Scottish Provincial toddy ladle, made by David Manson in Dundee. The toddy ladle is in the Fiddle pattern, and has original owners engraved initials RG. The ladle has 4 hallmarks, a partially struck D makers mark for Manson, and 3 well struck and clear "pot of lilies", from the Dundee coat of arms. Manson worked between 1809 and 1830, his work is quite scarce.

A Georgian silver wine label by Hester Bateman, engraved for Brandy. The label rectangular with a pierced fret dome, this neoclassical design originated in the Bateman studio, and was copied by others, including Susannah Barker and Hampston & Prince in York (Wine Labels 1730-2003, pages 174 and 234). The label has a zig zag feather edge border, raised eyelets, the piercing of the scrolls in the dome is lovely. The label has 2 hallmarks, both clearly struck, makers mark HB in script for Hester Bateman and lion passant. The absence of a duty mark enables us to date the label to before 1784 when the duty mark was introduced, this neoclassical design is thought to orininate around 1770 (Wine Labels page 50).

A Chinese Export silver dessert spoon in the Fiddle pattern, with no engraving. The spoon is good quality, easily comparable to an English Georgian example. The hallmarks are good, with only slight wear to the top of the makers mark, and include pseudo duty mark, pseudo crowned leopards head (London town mark pre 1821), pseudo date letter P in incuse rectangle with cut corners, pseudo lion passant and makers mark WE WE WC. This is an imitation of the makers mark for William Eley, William Fearn and William Chawner. The Chinese Export silver collectors guide (4th edition, pg 763-767) says this maker remains unidentified, but was responsible "for an astounding production of silver items, almost all in the European neo-classical style. The work of WE WE WC is par excellence, it can rival the best of English, European and American silversmiths of the Georgian era. There is no such thing as a poor piece of WE WE WC silver. To have the wherewithal to create silver that rivaled the finest European and American silver...