Sterling Silver Knives with Scroll Handles, 1968
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Twelve English sterling silver main knives, hallmarked London, 1968, C J Vander Ltd, with scroll pistol grip handles, with stainless steel blades marked Hardy Brothers Ltd, total weight 839gm (including blades), length 24 cm (12)
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- Hallmarks - A mark stamped on articles of precious metals in Britain, since the 14th century, certifying their purity. It derives its name from the Guild Hall of the Goldsmiths' Company, who recieved its Charter in 1327 giving it the power to assay (test the purity) and mark articles of gold and silver.
The hallmark will consist of several marks, including the:
- silver standard mark, indicating the purity of the metal. Sterling silver is .925 pure silver.
- the city mark indicating the city in which it was assayed eg London, Birmingham, York etc.
- the date mark, usually a letter of the alphabet in a particular font and case,
- a duty mark, indicating whether duty had been paid to the crown, and only in use from 1784 to 1890
The piece may include an additional mark, the maker's mark, although not forming part of the hallmark, will be located in the vicinity of the hallmarks.
Sometimes silver plated items will bear faux hallmarks, often confusing those not familiar with silver markings. - Sterling Silver - Sterling silver is a mixture of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% of another metal, usually copper. Fine silver is 99.9% pure silver, and is relatively soft and the addition of the very small amount of copper gives the metal enough strength and hardness to be worked into jewellery, decorative and household objects.
- Pistol Grip - Usually found on knives, and in use from about 1730, the pistol grip handle tapers out from the blade toward the end of the implement, and then curls in the shape of the truncated handle of an early pistol.
The grip is seen occasionally on forks, and also used to describe the handles on an urn where the handle rises up from the body of the urn towards the top, but turns down before meeting the neck, leaving a gap between the neck and the handle
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