A Irish Georgian silver tablespoon, in the Old English pattern, with original owners engraved initials PRM. The spoon has a lovely feel, full of character, with quite a large bowl. The hallmarks are bottom marked, and very clear, they could not be better. They include Dublin Hibernia, Crowned Harp, date letter R for 1765 and makers mark C.S in diamond punch, with star above and below, very distinctive. Skinner worked between 1739 and 1765, so this spoon was made right at the end of his career. He was a highly respected silversmith, he was elected Warden in 1751, Master in 1754 and in 1755 was elected to the Dublin City Common Council (Bennett, Collecting Irish Silver, page 153).

An early Irish silver rat-tail Hanoverian tablespoon, made in 1729 by Esther Forbes, the widow of Robert Forbes. The spoon is lovely quality, a pleasing weight, and in remarkably good condition. The spoon has a deep frontal rib running halfway down the handle, with a strong turn-up, and the traditional rat-tail used before 1730. The spoon has original engraved family crest on the back of the spoon (spoons were placed face down at this period), the crest featured a raised arm in armour holding a cross (slight wear to the cross). The 3 hallmarks are clear, makers mark EF in oval punch (slight wear to F, looks more like EE), date letter gothic K for 1729, and crowned harp, with slight wear but clearly discernable. This spoon predates the Irish Hibernia mark which was introduced in 1731. Robert Forbes worked between 1701 and his death in 1718, his widow Esther continued the business until 1729. A number of their spoons have survived. Robert was a Quarter Brother (Collecting Irish Silver by Douglas Bennett, page 1...

An Irish antique silver sauce ladle, in the Celtic pointed pattern, also called Pointed Old English. The ladle has a beautiful original engraved family crest of a stag's head with a cross between the antlers, the detail is good with no wear. This we believe is the family crest of the Bassett family, described as "A Stag's Head Caboshed, And Between The Attires A Cross Patt Fitch Arg" - source (www.myfamilysilver.com). The hallmarks are excellent, they could not be clearer, including makers mark JP for John Power. Pickford, in his book "Silver Flatware", states that most Irish flatware of this period is this Celtic Pointed variant, which is only found in Ireland and Scotland.

A delightful pair of miniature silver toy spoons, in the Hanoverian pattern, with scroll backs. The spoons have original owners engraved initials J.P and S.P respectively, the engraving is crude, done by an amateur, but with loads of character (one possibility is these were given to twins as birth spoons). The engraving is on the back of the spoons, as is usual with 18th century examples. The spoons are clearly a matching pair, but have differences in the handle sizes (one being slightly wider), so clearly hand made. Both spoons have 2 hallmarks, lion passant and makers mark WP for William Pinder, marks are slightly worn, one is better than the other. Pinder was a smallworker, he worked between 1770 and 1784. Small spoons smaller than teaspoon size have traditionally been described as snuff spoons, they vary from 4 to 9 cm, (1.5 - 3.5 inches). Newer research has noted the wide variety of sizes, and suggested the smaller ones are snuff, and larger ones are toy spoons. Scroll back spoons were popular 1760-1770,...

A rare Irish Provincial teaspoon in the Fiddle pattern, made in Cork by Samuel Green circa 1800, with a very rare Irish retailers mark. The teaspoon is quite long with a narrow bowl, and is hallmarked with incuse makers mark SG for Samuel Green, incuse STERLING guarantee mark, and retailers mark L.O.H in a rectangular punch, which is believed to be for Laurence O'Hagan, a watchmaker and presumably retailer in Limerick. Laurence O'Hagan, Watchmaker appears in the Hibernian Journal in 1791 on his marriage to Miss Quinn and again in 1804 on his marriage to Miss Bryan (source Silver Forums at 925-1000.com, on the Limerick and Irish Retailers marks pages). All the hallmarks are clear, especially the retailer mark, the G from STERLING is only partially struck. Irish provincial silver is quite rare, and often the hallmarks are worn or poorly punched, so this spoon is a nice example. Cork did not have an assay office, so the silversmiths adopted an unofficial STERLING mark to denote the 925 quality standard. This i...

A lovely pair of Georgian Irish silver hook-end basting spoons, made in Dublin in 1788, the spoons are a pleasing weight and quality. The spoons have the traditional hook end only found on some 18th Century Irish silver spoons, and are Old English in pattern. The spoon bowls are generous, very suitable for use as serving spoons. Both spoons are engraved with a peacock family crest, this has some wear but is still visible. Both spoons also have original owners initials P/IG on the back of the drops. The spoons are bottom marked with 4 hallmarks, the Hibernia, crowned harp and date letter Q for 1788 are clear on both spoons. The makers mark on both spoons has been lightly struck and unfortunately not readable (although first letter appears to be C in rectangular punch, so possibly Christopher Haines). Ian Pickford, in his book "Silver Flatware", describes hook-end or turned-over flatware as peculiar to Ireland, principally with 18th century serving pieces, for hanging the piece up (page 56).

A pair of early Georgian Hanoverian tableforks with 3 tines or prongs, made by the leading Huguenot spoonmaker of his day. The forks are a pleasing quality, and are in excellent condition, with no engraving, we really like these forks. The forks are bottom marked, as is usual for this period, as a result the hallmarks are slightly squashed, some are clear and some partially visible. The first fork has very clear PH under acorn makers mark (this could not be better), with worn lion passant and crowned leopards head town mark, and a partially visible K for 1725, good enough to be certain of the date. The second fork also has partially worn lion passant and crowned leopards head town mark, and a partially visible K for 1725, but makers mark is not visible. 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 mark in 1716, he was "Fre...

A lovely little campana shaped silver caster, probably intended as a pepperette. The caster is the traditional campana shape (inverted bell shape, copied from a Greek krater), with gadrooning around the rim and lower portion, the lid is pierced with scrolls and dots, and has a ball finial. The interior is gilded (lid as well), to prevent corrosion, the gilding has a lemon colour. The hallmarks on caster are worn and partially visible, the hallmarks on the lid very clear. Eley and Fearn worked between 1798 and 1824, so this caster was made at the end of their partnership. They are known as prolific spoon makers, but made other items as well. The campana shape is usually associated with vases and wine coolers. the Warwick vase, perhaps the most famous of all English silver vases, copied from a Greek marble vase, is campana shaped.

A collection of 3 18th century miniature toy or snuff spoons, all 3 with rattails dating circa 1720. The first is by David Clayton, this spoon is 5.9 cm long and weighs 1 gramme, makers mark only (gothic script DC, Grimwade 452). This spoon is dainty with long elegant handle, and has character, it is well used, scratches, kinks to handle and bowl, but no repairs. The second is possibly William Scarlett, with clear lion passant and partial marks mark ? /S, this spoon is 8.2 cm, weighs 4 grammes, slight kinks to bowl but otherwise good condition. The third spoon has no hallmarks, it has an old repair halfway down the handle, with inserted silver bar joining the 2 halves, this spoon is 8.8 cm and weighs 4 grammes. Even without hallmarks and with an old repair, we really like this spoon. David Clayton is perhaps the most famous English silversmith who specialized in miniatures, and to quote from Wikimedia - "David Clayton was a renowned English silversmith from London active from around 1697. His work is exhibite...

A rare early Georgian silver brandy saucepan or warmer, made in 1727 in Plymouth by Richard Freeman, and hallmarked in Exeter. The brandy saucepan is the traditional baluster shape, with a short beak shaped spout at right angles to the handle, with decorative silver ball underneath, and a concave base which has preserved the hallmarks. The turned wooden handle is securely fastened with a brass pin, the silver handle has a tear-drop shaped reinforcing plate where it connects to the pan. The handle has a thumb sized slice out of the wood on the side, we assume done by the original owner to improve the grip. The hallmarks are excellent, and include makers mark R.F in shaped shield (makers mark M50 in the book "West Country Silver Spoons and their makers 1550-1750", by Tim Kent, page 90, where he describes Freeman of Plymouth as "a prolific local goldsmith whose career extended over 50 years" (1701-1753). He was admitted to the Freedom of Plymouth in 1719, and entered this particular mark in Exeter in 1720 (the n...

A set of 4 Queens (also called Rosette) pattern egg spoons, 2 made by William Chawner in 1825 and the other 2 by George Adams in 1870 (of Chawner & Co.). The 4 spoons match perfectly, double struck with honeysuckle heel. All four spoons have the same engraved family crest, a leopard with whiskers above a a coronet, so belonged to the same family, but the crests were engraved at different times (so we assume the 1870 spoons were added to the earlier set). The spoons are fabulous quality, just over 30 grammes each, a pleasure to hold and use. The egg spoons have the traditional shovel shaped bowls with distinct shoulders, where they meet the stem, so quite different to teaspoons. The bowls are gilded, as is usual for egg spoons, to prevent corrosion from salt associated with egg. The hallmarks are clear on all 4 spoons. Queen's pattern is similar but heavier to Kings pattern, the shell at top front is convex (Pickford, Silver Flatware, page 124).

A rare Cape silver table fork in the Fiddle and Shell pattern, examples are known to exist but these are regarded as rare. The fork is single struck (pattern only on the front), the shell is a lovely feature. A similar example is depicted the book "Further Researches in Cape Silver" by David Heller, page 68, plate 13, also made by Lawrence Twentyman. English versions of this pattern are also scarce, mostly made in Scotland and Newcastle, London versions are rare (Pickford, Silver Flatware, page 114). The hallmarks are clear, makers mark LT and 4 pseudo hallmarks (crowned leopard's head town mark, date letter a, duty mark and lion passant), this is mark 135 in Cape Silver by Welz. Note: We have 2 other examples of this fork, S 11436 and S 11437.

A rare Cape silver condiment ladle, this is only the 2nd one we have encountered. The ladle is Fiddle pattern, similar in shape to a salt spoon, but with a long elegant handle, 3 to 4 cm longer than a salt spoon, the bowl is also more angled, and the handle has a very pronounced turn over for ease of use. The bowl is gilded, the original gilding is in quite good condition, a deep gold colour inside the bowl (note scratches from use), much more faded on the bowl exterior, but still visible. The ladle has 2 notches on the rear of the handle, where an extension was added to the more usual sized salt spoon, but we are confident this is original, as no solder marks are visible, so we imagine it was made on special order. The hallmarks are clear, makers mark LT and 4 pseudo hallmarks (crowned leopards head, date letter a, duty mark and lion passant), this is mark 135 in Cape Silver by Welz. Note: We have sold a previous Cape silver condiment ladle, S11128, by Fredrik Waldek, who took over Twentyman's shop on the He...

A set of 5 Fiddle pattern Cape silver tableforks, made by Willem Lotter. The forks are quite long and elegant, with bevelled edges, quite attractive and pleasing quality. All 5 forks are struck with makers mark WGL in irregular punch between 2 oval devices (Welz mark 88). Welz depicts this mark as a face, we are not convinced, this requires further research. Willem Gotfried Lotter worked between 1810 and 1835, his father (also Willem Gotfried) was also a silversmith, they shared the same punches. Lotter died in Richmond, which was established as a spa town for sufferers of tuberculosis.

A pair of Irish Provincial silver teaspoons, in the Fiddle pattern, with STERLING hallmarks. The spoons have original owners initials SL, small and engraved by hand, very provincial in nature. Both spoons are clearly hallmarked "STERLING", well struck and clear, but the punch a little worn, and the letters quite crude and blurry - so a home made punch. This mark was used by Silversmiths in both Cork and Limerick, more research on the style of the punch is required.

A Georgian Irish silver sugar bowl, made by Charles Townsend in Dublin around 1780. The bowl is circular with a fluted design and a flat fold over gadrooned rim, supported by three cast silver shell knuckle hoof feet, we love these feet. The base of the bowl is engraved with original owners initials P over M M, this is alongside the hallmarks. The bowl is clearly hallmarked with the Irish Hibernia and Crowned Harp, next to makers mark CT for Charles Townsend, who worked in Dublin between 1773 and 1790. This is a large bowl, more suitable today for bon-bons, it will hold a lot of sugar! The size and design is typical of the period for Irish silver, a number of other examples have survived. A similar shaped bowl but with different design, but with identical feet, now in the National Museum of Ireland. can be seen in a colour photograph in the book "Collecting Irish Silver" by Douglas Bennett (a book we highly recommend), page 63 and 65. The Metropolitan Museum also has a very similar fluted bowl, also by Charl...

A Cape silver tablefork in the Old English pattern, with 4 tines. The fork was made by Johannes Combrink who worked between 1814 and 1853. The hallmarks are well struck and clear, Welz mark 24, makers mark IC with canted corners and anchor hallmark.

A set of 6 Old English pattern Cape silver tablespoons, made by Johannes Combrink. All 6 spoons have engraved owners initials G, we assume the original owner. This set has been made by hand, there are slight differences in length, also differences in the shape of the handle, with some having narrower ends. One spoon also has a noticeably larger bowl than the other 5, so perhaps made at a different time. The drop on 2 spoons is also slightly longer, overall interesting but subtle differences between the spoons. The hallmarks also exhibit differences, three spoons are struck with makers mark IC three times, the other three are struck with makers mark IC four times (similar to the English duty dodgers). The orientation of the marks also differs, some are struck vertically and some sideways, so it appears the silversmith struck marks quite randomly. This mark is 29 or mark 30 in the book Cape Silver by Welz, the C is quite close the the I, and has short arms, almost looks like a K. The slightly larger spoon, whic...

A rare Irish provincial sterling silver teaspoon made by Isaac Solomon of Cork, with excellent hallmarks. The teaspoon is Fiddle pattern, the bowl is elongated with a strong tip, more European than English in style. The spoon is engraved with original owners initials II. The hallmarks are excellent, "I.SOLOMON" and "STERLING" in serrated punch, these are well struck, but the sterling punch shows sign of wear. Solomon was born around 1775 and died in 1845, he worked from Patrick's Street, Cork. A number of items with makers mark IS have also been ascribed to Solomon, it is probable that these should be ascribed to John Seymour, and not Solomon. Solomon was a jeweller and silversmith, his working dates beyond 1810 are not known.

A lovely pair of Cape silver teaspoons in the Fiddle pattern, in excellent condition and with very clear hallmarks. The spoons are clearly hand made, you can see very slight differences in the shape and size of the Fiddle and bowl shape when comparing closely. The spoons are good quality and a good weight. The spoons have no engraving with no initials removed, completely original. Both spoons are clearly hallmarked with 4 pseudo hallmarks, all struck individually in the same order - pseudo duty mark, bird, pseudo Edinburgh Castle town mark and pseudo date letter B. This is mark 134 in the book "Cape Silver and Silversmiths" by Stephan Welz, without makers mark - but clearly Twentyman as he was the only Cape silversmith who used these punches. Twentyman was the most prolific of all Cape silversmiths, he had the first shop on Heerengracht (now Adderley Street) with a shop window. He worked between 1818 and 1837. We really like these spoons. Note - we have a matching set of 6 , S 11196.