A Royal Navy Sterling silver matchbook case, designed to hold the cardboard folder containing 2 rows of matches. The case is engine turned, with an applied Royal Naval Crown on the lid, the interior is gilded and has 2 wings for holding the matchbook in place. It is great quality, and has a lovely feel in the hand, with the engine turning giving a pleasing grip. The hallmarks are clear, both on the lid and the base, and the base rim is also engraved "Gieves Ltd London" , for the London retailer. Gieves (now Gieves & Hawkes) is a prestigious Savile Row Tailor, established in 1771, they hold numerous Royal Warrants, including the Queen, Duke of Edinburgh and Prince of Wales. They have long served the British Army, Royal Navy and the Royal family, clients include Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, Churchill and Charlie Chaplin. More recent clients include David Beckham, Bill Clinton and the Braun Formula 1 team (source wikipedia).
A lovely Art Deco Norwegian silver spoon, made to commemorate the unveiling of the Mor Og Barn (Mother and Child) statue in Sandefjord. The spoon has an embossed copy of the statue, a naked mother holding her baby in front of her, standing on a plinth. The rounded bowl has a stunning embossed view of Sandefjord, the detail is exquisite, complete with boats in the harbour, church steeples, houses and trees, with "SANDEFJORD" underneath. The Art Deco look and feel of the spoon is completed with the 8 pillars at the top of the handle. The hallmarks include silver mark 830S (830 grade silver) and makers mark of a goblet in an oval punch for Thorvald Marthinsen of Tonsberg. The original bronze statue is by Norwegian sculptor Arne Durban (1912-1994), who was known for his naturalistic work, his work is featured in over 30 Norwegian towns. It was unveiled on 17 May 1950 (Norwegian Constitution Day), which celebrates Norway becoming an independent kingdom in 1814. This spoon has been described by the website www.spoo...
A beautiful set of 6 art deco gilded sterling silver and enamel coffee spoons, with seal top finials. The gilding is a deep yellow colour, which provides a lovely contrast to the enamel. The back of the spoon bowls are beautifully decorated with fan shaped guilloche enamel, in 6 different bold colours (green, red, yellow, purple and light and dark blue). Guilloche enamel is a technique where a precise pattern is engraved on the silver base using a rose engine lathe, also called engine turning. The hallmarks on all 6 spoons are clear, including makers mark SLd for William Suckling Ltd, who worked between 1922 and 1955.
A German silver cigarette case, with an engraved horseshoe and riding crop, with a ruby embedded in the horseshoe. The case is 800 grade silver, and has post 1888 German silver hallmarks (moon and crown, followed by 800). The horseshoe signifies good luck, the ruby passion, and the crop is a riding or hunting crop.
A rare solid silver version of the Voortrekker Aandenking (memorial) 1838 - 1938 bowl, in 835 grade silver. The circular bowl with foot is well modeled, with ox wagons on trek, with Boer (farmer) on horse, cattle in the foreground and mountains in the background, framed by trees. The other image is of the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria, and in between are two lit candles in a candlestick, surrounded by chains, with Zulu shields above and ox horns below. One candle reads "VOORTREKKER AANDENKING", the other "1838 - 1938". This design was done by the famous South African artist JH Pierneef (1886-1957), probably South Africa's greatest landscape artist. The hallmarks are clear, and include makers mark V over moon for Zilverfabriek Voorschoten, and 835 indicating the grade of silver (835/1000). Zilverfabriek Voorschoten is a brand name of Koninklijke Van Kempen & Begeer, founded in 1764 and still in existence today, they moved from Utrecht to Voorschoten in 1858. The Voortrekker Aandenking bowls were made in a v...
An interesting set of 6 Art Deco sterling silver sandwich flags, perfectly preserved in their original box. The silver flags are accompanied by 20 double sided interchangeable plastic flag names, these include: - caviare, tomato& cheese, smoked salmon,beef, cucumber, sardine, anchovy,chicken, egg& anchovy, egg, ham, cheese, tomato, lobster, cress, smoked roe, crab, banana, tongue and fish. The flags themselves are good quality, ivory in colour (sometimes described as ivorine, certainly intended to imitate ivory) with clear black lettering, all 20 are in good condition. The flags can be interchanged according to the menu. It is interesting to see what would have been on the sandwich menu in 1929, caviare, smoked roe and lobster, but also banana! All 6 flags are fully hallmarked, clearly legible on 5 flags, one flag has indistinct marks. All 6 flags are also marked "Made in England", alongside a provisional patent number "Pro/ Pt 33279/28" and design registration number "Rd 742069". Adolph Scott worked between...
A rare set of Georg Jensen Beaded pattern ice cream (or sorbet) spoons (6), made in very limited quantities. The spoons are small teaspoon size, and have flat oval bowls for eating ice cream, the bowls are planished (hand beaten marks, hand forged). The beaded pattern (Kugle in Danish, Jensen pattern # 7) has a beaded pattern around the lower edge of the handle, it was designed by Jensen himself in 1916, described as "an elegant composition, that remains contemporary in design while imparting a timeless quality" - Georg Jensen, Tradition of Splendid Silver, page 267. All 6 spoons are hallmarked with Danish marks GJ in circular bead with 925 standard mark, and English import marks for 1925, with importers mark GS for George Stockwell & Co, (imported Jensen silver between 1909 and 1931).
An Art Deco silver and bakelite Globe teapot, made in Germany during the 1930's. The teapot is completely spherical, the spout has a triangular opening in the top for opening. The base is a circular bakelite disk, with silver nut which screws onto teapot, the bakelite handle is ear shaped and the bakelite finial is half moon shaped. The teapot is quite small, single serving size. The teapot has 2 hallmarks, 800 purity mark and makers mark of what looks like interlocking SHF in circle (but could be different sequence?).
A lovely set of 12 Art Deco Dutch silver knife rests, in excellent condition and a very pleasing weight. They are classic angular Art Deco design, quite pleasing on the eye. All 12 are hallmarked with makers mark V over half moon, and the Dutch silver single sword mark (1906-1953), used on small work. This is the makers mark of Zilverfabriek Voorschoten, a mark used by Koninklijke Van Kempen & Begeer, founded in 1764 and still in existence today. These knife rests would also be suitable for sushi chopsticks.
A beautiful and classic Art Deco silver tea service, consisting of teapot, coffeepot, milk jug and sugarbowl. The set is extremely well made, and is a very good weight. The set has ivory handles and finials, and deco engraving. The milk jug and sugarbowl have gilt interiors. All four pieces are fully hallmarked, with clear hallmarks. Viners are well known for their deco silver.
An interesting German silver gravy boat, both Arts & Crafts and Art Deco in style. The gravy boat is oval with a raised lip, and is on a fixed oval base to prevent drips. Both the boat and base are hand hammered, which creates an appealing texture. The handle is shaped bone, fixed to the boat with attractive silver rivets. The gravy boat is lovely quality, quite heavy, and very well made. The boat is hallmarked with the German silver moon and crown (used post 1888), 925 sterling silver standard mark, and makers mark IA for Josef Arnold. The base is also stamped "Arnold" Josef Arnold (1884 - 1960) worked in Hamburg, Germany, he trained with his father at Bruckmann & Sohne (Art Nouveau & Art Deco Silver, Annelies Krekel-Aalberse, pg 145 and 251). He initially taught in Erbach, Hanau and Hamburg, and opened his own workshop in Hamburg in 1931.
A pair of Georg Jensen Parallel or Relief pattern salad or vegetable servers, in the Parallel pattern, also called Relief # 25 pattern. They are a lovely classic Art Deco shape, with rectangular handles with serrated edge design, and the rare additional of 2 circular "wings" midway up the handle. Both have clear hallmarks, the GJ in rectangle makers mark (used between 1933 and 1944) above "Sterling Denmark". The fork also has additional London import marks for 1936, and the G.J Ld makers mark used by the London Jensen shop. The parallel pattern is interesting most of the smaller items have no "wings", a few of the larger serving items have scroll "wings" , the circular "wings" present here appear to be the rarest addition to the pattern. The pattern was designed in 1931 by Oscar Gundlach-Pedersen, a famous Danish architect who designed a number of important buildings. He was born in 1886, he served as Georg Jensen's last apprentice in 1911, he later returned to the Georg Jensen firm as Manager and Artistic D...
Outstanding example of Dutch Art Deco silver, by a highly regarded silversmith and designer Harm Ellens, who executed designs for Hooykaas in the twenties (source Krekel-Aalberse, Art Nouveau and Art Deco Silver). The teapot, cream jug and lidded sugar basin have ebonised wooden handles and finials, in 833 silver. All 3 pieces are a good weight, and pleasing to use. All 3 pieces are fully hallmarked with clear hallmarks, including the teapot and sugarbowl lids. The hallmarks include makers mark HH, Lion Passant for 833 standard silver, (with keymark indicating it was made for export), Perseus duty mark with mint mark M on helmet, indicating Schoonhoven assay office, date letter M for 1922 (source Tardy, International hallmarks). The base of each also has the hallmark M2 and a scratched number 42299.
A sterling silver circular salver in the Art deco style, with 6 panels of incurved decoration (3 parallel lines on the exterior), and 3 silver button feet. The salver has a raised border, slightly wavy, overall the decoration is quite understated, but makes a big impact. The salver is a superb weight and quality, unlike many light and flimsy copies made at this time. This excellent quality is what we have come to expect from the Barnard's, who are the oldest manufacturing silversmiths in existance, the business being founded in 1773 (Culme, Gold and Silversmiths, pg 29). The hallmarks are very clear, as good as they get, with excellent detail. An almost identical salver, also by Barnards in 1937, but with ivory bun feet, can be seen on the AC Silver website (www.acsilver.co.uk).
Two rare Georg Jensen sterling silver items designed by Count Sigvard Bernadotte for Georg Jensen in the 1930's. The first is a cigarette cup, design number 825A, and the second is a candy dish, design number 825 (both items carry the design number on the base). Both have the same simple but elegant design, and rest on the same arch patterned foot. Both items are hallmarked "Georg Jensen, Denmark Sterling, 925S", and both have the designers signature "Sigvard" along with the pattern number described above. Count Sigvard Bernadotte, often referred to as "The Design Prince of Sweden", lived between 1907 and 2002. He was the son of King Gustav VI of Sweden, Great Grandson of Queen Victoria, and Uncle to Denmark's Queen Margrethe II. Originally Prince Sigvard, he lost his title when he married a commoner. He spent his career as a designer, not only in silver but ceramics, glass, plastics, furniture and even logos. He co-founded the Swedish Society of Industrial Designers (SVID), and his designs can be found in ma...
