Birmingham 1810 George III Sterling Silver Caddy Spoon Wp
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George III sterling silver caddy spoon, hallmarked Birmingham, 1810, Wp ( William Pugh), the shallow circular bowl decorated with radiating engine turned design within a foliate neoclassical wreath border, the bifurcated handle with engraved monogram, total weight 6.5gm, length 6.5 cm
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- 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.
- Engraving - The method of decorating or creating inscriptions on silver and other metal objects by marking the surface with a sharp instrument such as a diamond point or rotating cutting wheel.
- Foliate - Decorated with leaves or leaf-like forms.
- 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. - Engine Turned - Engine turning is a decorative technique used on metal surfaces to create intricate curving or geometric pattern. The process involves cutting a series of lines into the surface of the metal using a rose engine or decoration lathe which rotates the metal as it cuts, allowing the operator to create a repeating pattern that covers the entire surface. The resulting surface has a shimmering, reflective quality that is often described as "engine turned." Where an engine turned item has been enamelled, the term used to describe the decoration is usually guilloche.
Engine turning was originally developed to decorate metal objects such as firearms, scientific instruments, and other metal objects that required precise and elegant design. - George Iii - George III (1738 - 1820) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1760 to 1820.
- Marrow Spoon - A spoon with a long handle and a narrow scoop shaped bowl, used to scoop and eat marrow from the hollow centre of roasted bones. Some marrow scoops are double ended with a different shaped bowl at each end.
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