Antique Sterling Silver Spoons with Hallmarks and Monograms
You must be a subscriber, and be logged in to view price and dealer details.
Subscribe Now to view actual auction price for this item
When you subscribe, you have the option of setting the currency in which to display prices to $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.
- 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.
- 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. - Fiddleback - A name given to the pattern of the grain in some timbers, where the lines of the grain are compressed and at the same time wavy. Fiddleback grain is prized as a timber for furniture and musical instruments, and is expensive becasue of its scarcity.
In Australia fiddleback graining is found in blackwood. Other non-native timbers that are sometimes found with a fiddleback grain are mahogany and maple. - Armorial / Armourial - Bearing a coat of arms. Coats of arms came into general use by feudal lords and knights in in the 12th century, and by the 13th century, arms had spread beyond their initial battlefield use to become a flag or emblem for families in the higher social classes of Europe. They were inherited from one generation to the next. When a family crest is used on individual items of silver or furniture it is an indicator of the aristocratic standing of the family represented.
Armorials were also used to decorate mass produced ceramic souvenir ware by such companies as Goss, Carlton & Shelley, and in these cases the coats of arms displayed were of boroughs and cities.
This item has been included into following indexes:
Visually similar items
A pair of sterling silver teaspoons, 1824/25, London, with maker's mark William Chawner. Fiddle back spoons, engraved with monograms; hallmarked. Silver weight 46 gr length 14 cm
A pair of sterling silver serving spoons, 1822/23, London with maker's mark William Esterbrook. Fiddle back spoons with fine reeded edges to the front and reverse and an embellishment in low relief to the throat; hallmarked. Silver weight 151gr length 23 c
A fine set of three Scottish sterling silver dessert spoons, 1876 Edinburgh, with maker's marks for Marshall & Sons, the Old English pattern spoons, crisply bright cut to the stems and finials, monogrammed 'A' in cartouche; hallmarked underside. Silver wei
A group of four Georgian sterling silver spoons. 1779 London, with maker's marks for Hester Bateman, in Old English pattern, one monogrammed to the finial; hallmarked to reverse of stems. Silver weight 109gr. Length 16 cm