An interesting antique silver milk (or cream) jug, hallmarked in Exeter but possibly made in Devon. It is oblong in shape, with an unusual cast rim with different types of flowers and thistles, and a very fine engraved band of scrolling foliage around the body. The jug has an ornate leaf and rose capped scroll handle, and 4 bun feet. The jug, casting and engraving is very fine quality, the work of a master craftsman. The 5 hallmarks are all clear, including makers mark SL. The base has an engraved number "10", possibly an inventory number. The oblong shape was popular for tea services between 1805 and 1815 in London, we often see a style lag in provincial centres. Simon Levy produced Exeter hallmarked silver between 1818 and 1832. Of Jewish origin, he was buried in the Jewish burial ground in Exeter, just outside the Roman wall. He was the son of Emanuel Levy, also a silversmith. They resided in the parish of St Thomas, Devon.

A lovely 9 carat gold music prize medallion, decorated with crisp and finely detailed musical instruments, including a harp, violin, trombone, oboe and clarinet, complete with sheets of music. The medallion is engraved "SFCC EISTEDDFOD, 1922, SENr Piano Solo, 1st Prize, Miss M Butt". The engraving has been done by hand. The medallion is attached to a gold link by scrolling foliage. The hallmarks are very clear, including makers mark T&S, 9 ct gold hallmarks, Birmingham town mark and date letter for 1922. The ring also has gold hallmarks.

A delightful associated pair of Madeira wine labels, with Bacchus masks amongst foliage. The labels were made 4 years apart, but obviously cast from the same mould, by the same maker. The hallmarks on both labels are very clear. The order of the hallmarks is the same, but different punches were used as they are different sizes. This design must have been popular for Willmore to have been producing it for at least a 4 year period. Note the slightly different chain fixture (one has an arm with single loop, the other 2 loops but no arm). One chain appears original, the other is a later replacement.

A unique set of 12 Hanoverian teaspoons, six of which are shellbacks, the other six are scrollbacks. These spoons predate the common practise of making and selling flatware in sets, complete sets are extremely rare. As is usual of the period, these spoons only have 2 hallmarks, the sterling and makers mark, which given the small size of the spoons were often poorly struck. The makers mark is present on all spoons but discernable on only 8, with 5 being by Charles Hougham (one set of 3 and another set of 2), and one each by Hester Bateman, Ebernezer Coker and Thomas Devonshire & William Watkins. Nine spoons have contempory initials, and 2 have a later crest.

A lovely cast silver belt buckle, probably a nurses buckle depicting a bird, butterfly, flowers and bullrushes (on each buckle). The quality is exceptional, the design is well modelled with lovely detail. The buckle was designed by Winifred Green (wife of Charles), who was a talented designer (Source Culme, London goldsmiths). Charles established the firm in 1903, so this buckle was one of their earlier pieces. The firm still exists today, and has a showroom in Cross St, Hatton Gardens, London. The hallmark is extremely clear.

Delightful heart shaped vesta case in excellent condition, with engraved initials FVB. The hallmarks are very clear, the lid is also hallmarked. This case has a nice feel in the hand. Vesta cases (called matchsafes in USA) were used to carry wax vesta matches (predate safety matches), they were struck on the serrated edge of the case.

A beautiful set of Queens pattern tableforks, extremely heavy (over 100 grams each!), they are wonderful to hold! Interesting crest of a curved topped escutcheon containing a wagon wheel, topped with a helmet and a heron. Hallmarks very clear.

A Scottish silver quaich of traditional shape, and medium in size. It is quite plain but very good quality, and a pleasing weight. The base is engraved "Brook & Son, 87 George St, Edinburgh", and the hallmarks, including makers mark B&S, are clear. The quaich is a traditional Scottish drinking vessel, the large sized ones were passed around at ceremonial occasions. They are popular christening presents in Scotland.

A lovely Queen Anne Dognose (also called wavy end) spoon in Brittania silver. The Dognose was popular during the Queen Anne period, and the transition between the earlier Trefid and later Hanoverian can clearly be seen. This spoon is engraved "KH" on the back of the spoon, which is correct as spoons were placed bowl down on the table at this time. The spoon has a very pronounced rat-tail, and is quite good quality, this spoon has a nice feel. The hallmarks are quite clear but squashed, as is usual for this period, as the stem was shaped after the hallmarks were struck. The hallmarks include Britannia, lions head erased, and date letter O for 1709. The makers mark is partially worn, but enough is present to positively identify Henry Greene (Grimwade 878, Jackson pg 160), with the R, distinctive shaped shield and pellet below. Greene was apprenticed to Thomas Allen (one of the First Fifteen spoonmakers), and freed in 1700. He was one of the London goldsmiths who signed the petition against "necessitous strange...

A pair of Scottish Provincial silver toddy ladles, made by James Douglas in Dundee. The ladles are Fiddle pattern, and have a well engraved and attractive crest of a raised fist holding a bundle of arrows. The hallmarks include makers mark JD, and pot of lilies struck 4 times. The 4th pot of lily is at right angles to the other 3. Both ladles have good hallmarks. The crest is the Brodie family crest, a dexter hand holding 5 arrows.

An early Victorian cast silver caddy spoon, with beautifully detailed vines, leaves and grapes. The spoon has an oval shaped bowl with pointed bowl end, the handle realistically modelled. The back of the bowl is partially covered with vine leaf and grapes. The hallmarks are clear, including date letter for 1844 and makers mark CR/WS for Charles Rawlings and William Summers, a well known business that traded between 1829 and 1897. They are known for very fine snuff boxes, wine labels and small items.

A Chinese Export (or China Trade silver) silver dessert spoon, in the Fiddle and Shell pattern, which is an attractive pattern. The spoon is single struck (shell on one side only), and has engraved owners initials NSL, this is beautifully engraved in an interlocking pattern. The hallmarks are clear, and include pseudo lion passant, pseudo crowned leopard head, very clear makers mark CU co-joined, and pseudo Georgian duty mark. Cutshing is a well known China Trade silversmith who worked in the 2nd quarter of the 19th century, he used at least 3 different makers mark (he also used CUT and CU not co-joined). The Fiddle and Shell pattern is rare, most English ones come from Newcastle or Scotland. No examples of this pattern are depicted in the book Chinese Export Silver, all the examples shown are the commoner Fiddle, Thread and Shell patten.

A rare Tudor pattern sugar spoon, made by Chawner & Co, the leading flatware maker of Victorian England. The sugar spoon is a pleasing quality, and is in excellent condition, it has no engraving. The Tudor pattern is a Gothic Revival pattern, it has 2 small scroll circular projections on each side of the stem, this differentiates it from the "Straight Tudor" pattern. The sugar spoon is clearly hallmarked, it also has a double dot journeyman's mark. In addition, it also carries the British Registry design number and date chart diamond, which rarely occurs on silver flatware. The presence of the design mark indicates that Chawner registered the design to protect it being copied. Tudor is described by Pickford (Silver Flatware page 150) as "a rare Chawner & Co pattern registered August 14th 1850, along with Straight Tudor, it appears in the Chawner Pattern book (page 218). Odd pieces may on rare occasions, be found, but building a service would be extremely difficult". The Tudor pattern is showcased in the V&A ...

An interesting set of 3 Witwatersrand Agricultural Society Rand Easter Show Sterling Silver Medallions, all presented to J.B. (Barry) Orpen, of Bar Circle Brahmans, in 1961, 1962 and 1964. The first 2 were awarded to "J.D.H. Lady Jake Manso for Champion Brahman Cow/ Heifer", the 1964 was awarded to "Bar Circle 3/61 for Reserve Champion Brahman Cow/ Heifer". All 3 are well preserved in their original boxes, all marked W.A.S. on the lid, one with RMP on interior, the others with SAM interior (Royal Mint Pretoria became South African Mint in 1941, so possibly a replacement box). This medallion is described by Laidlaw as number 0144c (www.southafricanmedals.com, a site we highly recommend)he describes "Obverse: Horse, cow and calf, sheep and pig in a field flanked by sheaths of corn, behind on right, vintage car and steam engine, in the distance mine head works and chimney, radiant sun on the horizon. Legend on a ribbon above: "WITWATERSRAND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY" with two small crosses at the top on each side. At...

A beautiful sterling silver antique cheese scoop, in the Indian pattern, made by Whiting of New York and retailed by N. Harding & Co. of Boston (Haverhill). The scoop bowl is gold washed, and has lovely bright cut engraving (flowers with pattern) on the back of the bowl. The scoop has 2 engraved initials on the front, an ornate P and M, and on the back is engraved "Fathers Day 02" (for 1902). This spoon is described as a cheese scoop in the pattern books, but the extreme foldover of the bowl shows it was designed for Stilton cheese. The hallmarks are clear, including Whiting lion makers mark, "PAT 1874 STERLING", retailers mark N Harding & Co (slightly worn but still visible), and additional marks 3 and A near the makers mark. We can date this scoop between 1874 when the pattern was designed by Charles Osborne, and 1889 which is the year Harding & Co closed (operated 1851-1889). We really like this cheese scoop.The Whiting Manufacturing Company was established in 1866, and was a supplier to Tiffany. They wer...

A fabulous Dutch rococo silver teaspoon, made by the master silversmith Johannes Schiotling. The spoon has an asymmetric handle, with scrolls and foliage in C and S shaped curves. The spoon bowl is long and elegant, the drop is also asymmetric foliage. The quality and condition is excellent. The hallmarks include makers mark ISL in rectangular punch for Johannes Schiotling (1730-1799), a Swede from Gothenburg (freed 1753) who settled in Amsterdam in 1762. He specialised in rococo silver, his silver is now in numerous museum collections, including the Rijksmuseum. A portrait of Schiotling and his wife hangs in the Amsterdam museum, see below. The other hallmarks, all clear, include 934 standard mark, Amsterdam town mark and date letter K for 1794. The spoon has additional later hallmarks, Dutch dagger and makers mark AW9 for A Willemse, whoc worked between 1932 and 1941. We are not sure why these later marks are present, perhaps for inspection prior to export, we cannot find any signs of repair. Note - A Lead...

A rare Exeter silver caddy spoon, made by Henry Samuel Ellis, who was only mentioned in the Exeter records in 1853, silver by him is rare (he died in 1878). The spoon has a vine leaf on the front of the handle, and a gilded fluted shell bowl. This is an unusual design, only used by Ellis in 1853 as far as we know (a few 1853 spoons by Ellis have this design, it is now called the HSE trademark leaf terminal - see www.antiquesilverspoons.co.uk and Bonhams - Knowle lot 121, 19/9/2006). The hallmarks are clear, the HSE makers mark is slightly worn at the top. Henry Samuel Ellis was Mayor of Exeter in 1868, his photograph is courtesy of www.exetermemories.co.uk. Henry Ellis and Son, advertised that their spoons were made with silver from the Combe Martin silver mine Story of the Caddy Spoon, 1775-2015, exhibition catalogue, page 35). Combe Martin is in North Devon, the disused silver mines are now a tourist attraction. Silver from Combe Martin was used for items in the crown jewels, it also financed war expenses o...

A scale replica set of the Tichborne Celebrities, probably the most famous of all English spoon sets, originally made by William Cawdell in 1592 (Kent, London Silver Spoonmakers). The set was produced in 1977 by the Heritage Collection of Bristol, commemorating the Silver Jubilee, in a limited edition of 5000 (this set is no 1814). The sets sold for GBP 250 in 1977, with a royalty paid to the Hampshire County Museum, who bought the original set at Christies in 1975 for GBP 85000. The spoons are sterling silver with gilt finials, and each spoon is hallmarked with 5 marks - makers device, STG (sterling), antelope head (South Africa), date letter D and set number 1814. The spoons are good quality, with very detailed finials, and each is engraved with its name, as per the originals. The set comes in original box, complete with signed certificate with information on each "celebrity", and a booklet describing the set, its maker, and information on Sir Robert Tichborne. The set comprises of the "9 Worthies" of medie...

A commemorative Irish silver caddy spoon, with the Gleninsheen collar handle and rounded square bowl, made to commemorate Ireland's entry into the E.E.C (European Economic Community). The original Gleninsheen collar is a gorget or neck ornament made from a sheet of pure gold, dating back to approximately 700 BC, it was dicovered by a farmer in 1932 in County Clare near the Gleninsheen wedge tombs, it is now in the National Museum. The collar has also featured on Irish stamps, and has been included in the book "The History of Ireland in 100 Objects" (which we can recommend). The caddy spoon also has the Gleninsheen Collar hallmark, which was only used in 1973. All the hallmarks are are well struck and very clear with no wear. An identical spoon was also part of the John Norie collection (lot 7, Part 1 of John Norie Collection of Caddy Spoons, Woolley & Wallis, April 2004). This spoon also features in the Pearson Silver Collection of post war British silver (www.pearsoncollection.com). Note - This spoon was als...

Very fine pair of heavy, embossed rectangular salts on raised base by well known maker. The decoration is embossed scroll, shell and floral with gadrooned rims. The crest is a dove with an olive branch in its beak. These salts are heavy even without the glass liners.