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Antique Silver Commemorative Ceremonial Trowel - UCT (University of Cape Town) Foundation Stone - William Hawke
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Reference: S1441
Period: Victorian
Year: 1896
Silversmith: Atkin Brothers
Place: Sheffield
Price: $ 1 200.00 Weight: 232 grams Dimensions: 29.0 cm Condition: Excellent. Scratches to base. No cracks to ivory, join solid.
Description: A Victorian silver commemorative trowel with ivory handle, of very good quality, with presentation inscription surrounded by scrolling foliage and flowers. The inscription reads "To commemorate the laying of the first stone of the New University of Cape Town by Mrs William Hawke, 28th February 1925". William Hawke of Hawke and McKinley was the architect responsible for the Groote Schuur campus of UCT, a magnificent set of buildings still in use today. UCT is ranked today as one of South Africa's leading universities. The hallmarks are very clear. Atkin Brothers was in business from 1853 to 1958, when they were taken over by CJ Vander Ltd.
William Hawke and his partner W McKinley were trained and worked in the UK, Hawke worked in the London Admirality Office of Works, where he assisted with the design of the Simonstown sanatorium (now Naval Signal School). They had a flair for prize winning designs, and in 1905 they won first premium for the Cape of Good Hope University buildings (later UCT). They moved to Cape Town the same year and worked in partnership for 30 years. Hawke died at his home Hawkridge, Lovers Walk, Kenilworth in 1938, his wife Mary (the Mrs Hawke on the trowel) died in 1934. An interesting article entitled "Silver Ceremonial Trowels" by Anthony Bernbaum has been published by the Silver Society, Vol 31, 2014.
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UCT trowel
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Inscription
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Scale
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Hallmark 1
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Hallmark 2
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