A Boer war antique silver vesta case, presented as a memento by General Sir Leslie Rundle, the Commander of the 8th Division of the South African Field Force. The vesta case is the usual rectangular shape, with spring hinged lid and gilded interior, and striker on the base, and a connecting ring so it could be attached to a fob chain. The case is good quality and in remarkably good condition, we think this was preserved by the owner and not used, many vesta cases of this period were well used and condition is often poor. The case is engraved on one side with a flag and "VIII" for 8th Division, the other side is engraved "S. AFRICA 1900 from L.R". The vesta case and lid are both clearly hallmarked for London 1900, and makers mark HBA for John Batson & Sons, who worked between 1851 and 1936, they were noted as "Army accoutrement makers" - source John Culme, Gold & Silversmiths, page 34. General Sir Leslie Rundle GCB, GCMG, GCVO, DSO (1856-1934) was a British Army General in the Boer War and First World War, whe...

A beautifully modelled solid silver Kudu antelope, with impressive horns, this is very realistic. The kudu is a good size and weight, 2 silver pins on the feet connect it solidly to the wooden base, which has a felt base, this is heavy enough to be a desk paperweight. The kudu is clearly hallmarked, triangle antelope head mark (Zimbabwe), crescent moon makers mark and 865 standard mark, so slightly lower than sterling grade. Realistic animal sculptures by Patrick Mavros of Zimbabwe are held in high esteem, given the quality of the modelling perhaps this silversmith was trained by Mavros. Note - We have now identified the maker as Silver Creations of Harare, Zimbabwe circa 1987, from a similar set accompanied with Certificate of Assay by D Ewing. The owner has also established that Silver Creations has no links with Patrick Mavros. We would like to thank the owner of the set for sharing this information with us. Note 2 - Another owner of an identical piece has now contacted us, his is numbered 958 so perhaps ...

A pair of rare Old English Feather Edge and Cartouche silver tablespoons, made by William Pinder in 1771. The spoons are lovely quality and in excellent condition, we really like these spoons. The cartouche has been chased and engraved by hand, you can see small differences between the 2, notably the size and orientation of the scroll underneath. The cartouches are engraved with a family crest, a Griffin's head erased, this is the family crest of the Nalder Family (Fairbairns crests). Whilst Old English Feather Edge is a common pattern, the addition of the Cartouche, first produced around 1770 by Thomas Northcote, is rare (Silver Flatware, Ian Pickford, page 105). The pattern was revived late 19th century by Carrington, who called it Carrington Shield. The hallmarks are bottom marked, and include clear makers mark WP, with the W and P co-joined for William Pinder, who worked from Bunhill road between 1770 and 1784 (Grimwade page 624). The crowned leopards head and lion passant are partially worn but still cle...

A set of 24 gilded sterling silver medallions, produced to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Wildlife Society of Southern Africa. The medallions are all in perfect condition, and are beautifully engraved, these are extremely high quality. Each weighs 36.5 grammes, has a proof like finish and is gold plated sterling silver. The complete set comes in original wooden box with red leather top and velvet and silk lined interior. The medallions depict 24 different South African wild animals including: baboon, buffalo, cheetah, crocodile, elephant, fish eagle, giraffe, green mamba, hippopotamus, hyena, impala, jackal, kudu, leopard, lion, oryx, rhinoceros, sable antelope, secretary bird, vervet monkey, warthog, waterbuck, wildebeest, and zebra. The reverse depicts the emblem of the Wildlife Society, a stylised sable antelope, surrounded by "ANNIVERSARY 50 HERDENKING". Each medallion also carries 4 hallmarks, "ET+, STG, antelope head, date letter C, being South African sterling hallmarks made by Africana Mint. T...

An interesting Zambian Arts and Crafts sterling silver and malachite milk jug, sugarbowl and sugar spoon, made by the most prestigious jewellery company in Zambia. The milk jug is in the form of a brandy saucepan (perhaps it is!), with straight sides and a sparrow beak spout, and polished malachite handle. The sugar bowl is spherical, with 4 malachite cabochons as decoration, and 3 curved feet and planished body, very similar in style to Liberty Cymric Archibald Knox pieces (he used turquoise). Both are hand hammered, with planished surface, clearly made by hand, the bowl more noticeable than the jug. The spoon is also lovely, with a malachite pearl in dragons foot finial, rounded handle with a knob for grip, also clearly made by hand. All 3 pieces are hallmarked, firstly with S925 standard mark, and secondly with makers mark KR in Zambian country outline. Klaus Rygaard is a Danish Jeweller and watchmaker, he emigrated to Lusaka, Zambia in 1965, took over a jewellery store, he later established his own goldsm...

A magnificent pair of Arts & Crafts silver Apostle spoons, made by George Henry Hart of the Guild of Handicraft. The spoons are clearly made by hand, with cast finials and hand hammered bowl, with clearly visible hammer marks. The quality of these spoons is fabulous, we love them! The spoons have a stylised beaded rattail, quite unusual, but a lovely feature. The Apostle figure wears a hooded cowl, and has his hands crossed in front of his body. The figure sits on a traditional hexagonal seal top, the stem of the spoon is rounded. The hallmarks on both spoons are very clear, including makers mark "GofH", (without Ltd, in use between 1900 and 1908). The Guild of Handicraft went into liquidation in 1908, the business was continued by George Henry Hart, who designed these spoons, possibly for Prinknash Abbey. The business is still operating today, and run by Julian Hart, great grandson of George Hart (see www.hartsilversmiths.co.uk), in the beautiful village of Chipping Campden, well worth a visit. We rec...

A Dutch silver miniature kettle, circa 1725, by the prolific Frederik I van Strant, who made a large number of miniature silver objects in the course of his career (Houart, Miniature Silver Toys). A very similar kettle also by van Strant can be seen in figure 69 of the book described above. Unfortunately this kettle has lost its original lid, this lid is a replica copy of the lid depicted in the book. The makers mark is very clear, the Amsterdam town mark partially visible, and the assay scrape is also present. An almost identical miniature silver kettle, also by Frederik van Strant circa 1725, is depicted in the book "Tall and Small, Antique Dutch Silver Miniatures" by Aardewerk Antiques of The Hague, pg 153, image 346. We highly recommend this book.

A rare pair of Cape silver tablespoons in the Old English thread pattern, we have only noted 2 examples of Cape silver in this pattern in the body of literature. The spoons are the usual Old English shape, but with a double thread around the edge, this is double struck (occurs on the front and back of the spoons). Both spoons are engraved with original owners initials IM in script. Both spoons are hallmarked with makers mark IC, the marks are slightly blurred, we assume the punch was worn when they were struck. The spoons are also hallmarked with the "Cape Stub", 4 pseudo - English hallmarks (lion passant, date letter, duty mark and leopard's head) struck mechanically in a fly press (see article on Cape Stub in "The Finial, 2007, and in the articles tab above), these marks have some wear but are still clearly visible. We believe these spoons were made by hand, you can see differences in how the thread has been applied, and the 2 spoons, whilst the same size, have very different weights (one is 74 grams, the s...

A rare Cape silver marrow scoop, with 4 pseudo hallmarks and an unusual shaped stem. The marrow scoop is the usual shape, with a thinner and thicker scoop at either end, the stem has an unusual shape, slightly thicker in the centre, possibly to improve the grip. The scoop has 4 pseudo hallmarks, these are well struck but blurry, probably due to inferior or worn punches being used. They include pseudo date letter Gothic a, pseudo crowned leopards head town mark, pseudo duty mark with noticeable cusp to the right, and pseudo date letter B, also with cusps. No makers mark is present, and we have not seen this particular combination of marks together before. However, the only Cape silversmith who used these particular pseudo marks is Lawrence Twentyman, see Welz, Cape Silver & Silversmiths, page 155, marks 134 (capital B) and 135 (crowned leopards head, a and duty mark). In addition, a very similarly shaped Cape silver marrow scoop is depicted by Welz in the same book, page 77, centre, this example by Lawrence Tw...

A set of 6 Norwegian silver cake forks in the Lilje (Lily) pattern, made by one of Norway's leading silversmiths, Magnus Aase, circa 1939. The forks are in the 830 silver grade, and their quality is excellent, they are also a pleasing size and weight (25 grammes each), so very suitable for use. The Lily pattern was designed by Trigve Eriksen in 1939, described as a simple yet elegant expression of the Lily, typical of the artistic style of the 1930's. This pattern is still produced today by Arven, described as one of their most popular patterns, they descend from Theodor Olsen, Magnus Aase, Marius Hammer, Jacob Tostrup and the Lohne brothers (www.arven.no). The hallmarks are clear on all 6 forks, and include 830S standard mark, MA makers mark, NM for "Norsk Monster" (patent) and N , possibly a date letter.

A Cape Silver lemoen lepel, (orange spoon), in very good condition, and with very clear makers mark. This spoon is typical of the Cape lemoen lepels, with pointed terminal and bowl, the bowl itself eye shaped and quite deep. The spoon has typical Cape engraving, with a 4 petal flower and wrigglework along the edges of the handles. It also has a distinctive V joint connecting handle to bowl. The IC makers mark is well struck and clear (Welz mark 32 with canted corners). Welz describes orange spoons as"probably the most attractive type of spoon made at the Cape, derived from Dutch spoons", pg 95. He also notes that all known examples are by Cape born silversmiths of the early 19th century (so not made by the more prolific English immigrants who arrived after 1815). As far as we are aware, only Jan Lotter and Johannes combrink made lemoen lepels, probably between 1800 and 1815. Note - this spoon matches the pair S 1922 and single spoon S1923, but with slightly more wear to engraving.

An antique silver nutcracker, quite a rare item as nutcrackers are usually silver plate, occasionally with silver handles, this example is solid silver, so quite an extravagance in it's day. The nutcracker is the usual form, with 2 handles connected with an extremely strong hinge, the arms are reversible, so can be turned around to accommodate different sized nuts. The cracking portion is oval in shape, with textured sides to hold nut firmly in place, with rectangular hole to allow shell to pass through. The handles are rounded, with balls on the ends. These are good quality nutcrackers, quite heavy at just under 200 grammes, and very suitable for use. Both arms and the hinge are clearly hallmarked. William Comyns & Sons was an important firm of manufacturing silversmiths, established in 1859, they supplied many of the leading retailers, including Tiffany, Thornhills of New Bond Street, and Carringtons, Wilson & Gill and Goldsmiths & Silversmiths of Regent Street (Culme, Directory of Gold and Silversmiths, pa...

A lovely set of 6 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, just under 20 grammes each. The spoons have no engraving with no initials removed, completely original. All 6 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.

A set of 6 Cape Silver teaspoons, Old English in pattern but more in a Continental than English style, with v shaped drops, Continental shaped bowls with sharp tip, and handles that flatten out towards the terminals. We really like these spoons, typically early Cape in character, made before the arrival of the English settlers in 1820. All 6 spoons are clearly hallmarked with makers mark IC in rectangular punch with clipped corners, fat base I and C with shorter top, Welz mark 32 (page 147). All 6 spoons also have original owners stamped initials ISR. In addition, all 6 spoons have a later owners lightly scratched initials MN on the front of the spoons, only visible in certain light. The MN initials are stylish, perhaps Art Deco, so possibly added in the 1930's. These spoons are accompanied by a card dated 1933, the spoons were a gift from Mr & Mrs Louis P Naude of Kimberley to his niece Luisa, written in Afrikaans, stating the spoons are already over 100 years old, and that if she behaves she can get the oth...

A Cape Silver lemoen lepel, (orange spoon), in very good condition, and with very clear makers mark. This spoon is typical of the Cape lemoen lepels, with pointed terminal and bowl, the bowl itself eye shaped and quite deep. The spoon has typical Cape engraving, with a 4 petal flower and wrigglework along the edges of the handles. It also has a distinctive V joint connecting handle to bowl. The IC makers mark is well struck and clear (Welz mark 32 with canted corners). Welz describes orange spoons as"probably the most attractive type of spoon made at the Cape, derived from Dutch spoons", pg 95. He also notes that all known examples are by Cape born silversmiths of the early 19th century (so not made by the more prolific English immigrants who arrived after 1815). As far as we are aware, only Jan Lotter and Johannes combrink made lemoen lepels, probably between 1800 and 1815. Note - this spoon matches the pair S 1922.

A collection of 10 sterling silver souvenir spoons, all from a different British town. The spoons were made in Birmingham, London, Chester and Sheffield, with dates ranging from 1893 to 1919. All 10 spoons have clear hallmarks. The 10 include: 1. Ripon, Birmingham 1912, Levi & Salaman, crest in bowl 2. Bideford, Chester 1906, John Millward Banks with flower trademark, engraved Bediiforde 1577 Sicillun Comvne De 3. Brighton, Birmingham 1918, Levi & Salaman, engraved In Deo Fidemus 4. Scarborough, Birmingham 1905, Levi & Salaman 5. Canterbury, Birmingham 1901, Turnbull Brothers, Cathedral in bowl 6. Oxford, Birmingham 1911, gilded armorial in bowl 7. Manchester Ship Canal, Sheffield 1893, Henry Wigfull, gilded armorial in bowl, cast handle with Navigation & Commerce 8. Unknown town, London 1899, Saunders & Shepherd, cast floral handle, lovely quality 9. Unknown town, Birmingham 1908, Joseph Cook & Sons 10. Oxford University, Sheffield 1919, Joseph Rodgers Note- The earlier spoons pre 1900 are notic...

A rare pair of Cape silver tablespoons in the Old English pattern, engraved with the crest of the Cape Regiment. The spoons are engraved "CAPE.REG" above a bugle, suspended from a shamrock shape rope knot. This bugle was used as a crest for English Light regiments, currently still used by the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (lightbobs). As is often the case with regimental silver, these spoons have been well used (and well polished), so the crest is worn, one is better than the other. Both spoons have clear Cape silver hallmarks, anchor, IC, anchor, mark 22 in Cape Silver by Welz, used by Johannes Combrink. The Cape Regiment was formed in 1795, and consisted of Khoisan and Coloured men under white officers, headquartered in Simonstown. In 1817 it was renamed the Cape Corps, it remained in existence until 1926. Major Matthew Richmond, a New Zealand Colonial administrator and politician, served with the Cape Regiment in 1817, so may have used these spoons. (note - we have 2 sets of these spoons)....

A rare pair of Cape silver teaspoons in the Fiddle pattern, with excellent hallmarks. They include the rare Masonic "Square and Compasses" symbol, the single most identifiable symbol in Freemasonry. This hallmark is very well struck on both spoons. The other hallmarks include makers mark TT for Thomas Lock Townsend (struck twice), and pseudo Georgian duty mark (Kings head) - see Welz, Cape Silver, mark 126. Thomas Lock Townsend arrived in the Cape in 1815, the first of the English silversmiths to arrive. He was followed in 1819 by his half brother John Townsend, who joined him in a brief partnership between 1824 and 1825. Thomas Lock Townsend found business difficult in the Cape, he was declared insolvent in 1819, and when he died in 1849 left insufficient estate to cover his funeral costs. Besides being registered as Goldsmith and Jeweller, he practised as mechanical dentist, lodging house keeper, and had an equipment store and fitting out warehouse (Welz, pg 141) We are selling these 2 spoons individually...

An early Cape silver Hanoverian pattern soup ladle, by Daniel Heinrich Schmidt, described as the greatest of Cape silversmiths by David Heller (History of Cape Silver). The ladle is a very pleasing gauge, very heavy to hold, and has a long drop. It also has the central Hanoverian rib on the front, and a strong turn up. The ladle is hallmarked with makers mark DHS, which is clear, but struck by a worn punch (mark 174 in Welz, described as unknown by Welz, but now known to be Schmidt's mark). Schmidt had a long career (1768-1811), his makers mark punch must have become worn over time. The second hallmark is larger and circular, but worn, probably the bunch of grapes hallmark often used by Schmidt. the third mark nearby does not appear to be a hallmark, but an imperfection in the silver.

A rare Victorian silver postal scale, in full working order. The scale is intended for measuring postal items, so that the correct postage could be applied. This scale would have been used in a wealthy household, not a Post Office. The front is engraved "Postal Scale" on top, on the side "Postal Union Rates 2 1/2 d for each 1/2 ounce." To the left is engraved "English Rates" above measuring scale from 1d - 4d in 1/2 increments. To the right are 2 measures, 1 marked "LB" for pounds (scale 0 to 1 LB), to the right "OZ" for ounces measuring from 1-16. The engraving is exquisite, this is a lovely item. The base is rectangular with a Chippendale rim. The scale also has a knob (for adjusting scale) behind the pan, and a silver screw for opening the scale. The side of the scale is fully hallmarked, a registration number RD 308820, is also present. The top pan is also hallmarked, these are worn from polishing. Levi & Salaman were established in 1870, they were known for their high quality silver novelties...