An antique Dutch silver miniature horse and carriage, made in Hoorn late 19th century. The carriage is drawn by 2 prancing horses, with good detail, ropes and whip all intact. The quality is excellent, very solid, just under 100 grammes, so quite heavy for a miniature. The carriage has a driver and guard standing at the rear, and 2 passengers inside. The carriage is attractively engraved, and all 4 wheels turn perfectly. All 4 wheels are hallmarked with the Dutch dagger, used between 1814 and 1953. The carriage bar connecting to the horses also has the Dutch dagger, along with clear makers mark V.S.39, for Gebruder (Brothers) van Straten, who worked in Hoorn between 1885 and 1891 (Netherlands Responsibility Marks Since 1797, mark 20717). The Gebruder van Straten appear to have specialised in miniatures, a number are now in the collection of various museums. A set of miniature chairs and table by the Gebruder Van Straten was formerly in the collection of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, sold at a Sotheby's Ch...

An interesting solid silver figure of a musician playing a trumpet, decorated with coloured cabochon "jewels" in red, blue and green. The figure is beautifully modelled, the detail is astounding, clearly the work of a master craftsman. A total of 21 cabochons are present, we assume they are paste of glass, to simulate rubies, sapphires and emeralds, the cabochon in the hat is larger than the others. The texturing of the hat, hair and stockings is all done by hand. Their are traces of gilding on the figure, at end of trumpet and under coat. The figure only has one hallmark, a clear 13 in shield, quite a stylised 3, this is for 13 Loth silver, or 812 standard, used in Germany prior to 1888, hence our dating of the figure as circa 1880. Whilst no makers mark is present, we are confident it originates in Hanau, Germany, where a number of similar bejewelled figures were made, including a number of musicians. A number can be seen on the Pushkin Antiques website, www.pushkinantiques.com, in the archive/ sold section...

An antique silver miniature furniture cabinet, in 18th century style, made in Hanau by Simon Rosenau and imported into London by David Bridge in 1892. The cabinet has lovely detail, the hinged doors and 2 drawers are in full working order. The cabinet doors and sides are decorated with farming scenes, a woman collecting water, raking and carrying a tray, and a man with basket full of produce. Scrolls complete the design, the cabinet stands on 4 S shaped feet, the drawers have ring pulls and the door has a handle. The base of the cabinet and base of largest drawer have Hanau hallmarks, a clear SR under crown makers mark, clear 930 standard mark (so slightly purer than sterling 925), less clear German moon and crown mark, and a 4th indistinct mark. The back of the cabinet has very clear London import marks for 1892 and Importers mark DB for David Bridge. Simon Rosenau worked in Bad Kissingen from 1862-1932, he supplied antiques to the Royal Bavarian court. His son took over the business in the 1890's, he was d...

A Dutch antique silver miniature longcase clock (grandfather clock), this is a reproduction of an 18th century clock (staande horloges in Dutch). The clock is richly decorated, the ogee base has 3 panels with boats, a windmill and church spire with houses. The main body is decorated with flowers, foliage and scrolls, the pierced hinged door (with locking mechanism) opens to reveal a pendulum (decorative, not functional). The main clock housing has barley twist front, panelled sides, hinged front piece with clasp (zig -zag to hold glass in place), this swings upwards to allow adjustment of clock hands. The rear has a circular hinged door to access clock mechanism. The top of the clock has 2 cast reclining angels (putti), and 2 winged angels blowing horns standing either side. The central figure is missing (atlas holding a globe which we have seen on other examples). Hallmarks include lion passant (2nd standard purity 833) and makers mark JPH struck on back, Minerva duty mark with A for Amsterdam struck on the ...

A Dutch antique silver miniature 6 light chandelier, (kaarsenkroon in Dutch) in the traditional form, with a globe under the candlestick holders intended to reflect the light of the candles. The globe holds six scrolling arms, with applied decorative loops, the sconces with 4 petals. The connecting hook has 3 segments, also with ball decoration, the bottom one fixed and the 2 upper segments have chain links. All 3 pieces of the connecting chain are hallmarked with the Dutch dagger, the chandelier itself is apparently unmarked. The Dutch dagger was used between 1814 and 1905, and indicates a minimum of 833 grade silver. Chandeliers of this form date back to the 17th century, they were also produced as Dutch silver miniatures in the 18th century (see similar example by Arnoldus van Geffen, "Tall and Small Antique Dutch Silver Miniatures, Aardewerk, page 48). Two other examples are depicted in the book "Nederlandse Zilveren Miniaturen, 17de en 18de Eeuw, John Endlich, page 49. They were also reproduced in the 19...

A collection of 3 18th century Miniature snuff or toy spoons in the Hanoverian pattern, possibly all by the same maker Christian Hillan. The first spoon is hallmarked with makers mark CH under a star, we believe this to be the mark of Christian Hillan, Grimwade mark 326, this mark is well struck but slightly squashed by the small size of the handle. The spoon has a long drop which we date to circa 1740, the spoon is 7.7 cm long and weighs 5 grammes, the quality and condition of this spoon is excellent, we really like this spoon. The next 2 spoons are a pair, both are engraved on the back with script owners initials IJ, these spoons are possibly slightly later in date as they have no drop. They are 7.5 cm in length, and weigh 5 grammes combined. Both are in good condition, with very slight kink in the bowls. Both are hallmarked twice with the same makers mark, this is only partially visible, script letters, possibly CH for Christian Hillan (Grimwade 333), but it could also be John Hugh Le Sage (Grimwade 1681) ...

A delightful pair of miniature silver toy spoons, in the Hanoverian pattern, with scroll backs. The spoons have original owners engraved initials J.P and S.P respectively, the engraving is crude, done by an amateur, but with loads of character (one possibility is these were given to twins as birth spoons). The engraving is on the back of the spoons, as is usual with 18th century examples. The spoons are clearly a matching pair, but have differences in the handle sizes (one being slightly wider), so clearly hand made. Both spoons have 2 hallmarks, lion passant and makers mark WP for William Pinder, marks are slightly worn, one is better than the other. Pinder was a smallworker, he worked between 1770 and 1784. Small spoons smaller than teaspoon size have traditionally been described as snuff spoons, they vary from 4 to 9 cm, (1.5 - 3.5 inches). Newer research has noted the wide variety of sizes, and suggested the smaller ones are snuff, and larger ones are toy spoons. Scroll back spoons were popular 1760-1770,...

A collection of 3 18th century miniature toy or snuff spoons, all 3 with rattails dating circa 1720. The first is by David Clayton, this spoon is 5.9 cm long and weighs 1 gramme, makers mark only (gothic script DC, Grimwade 452). This spoon is dainty with long elegant handle, and has character, it is well used, scratches, kinks to handle and bowl, but no repairs. The second is possibly William Scarlett, with clear lion passant and partial marks mark ? /S, this spoon is 8.2 cm, weighs 4 grammes, slight kinks to bowl but otherwise good condition. The third spoon has no hallmarks, it has an old repair halfway down the handle, with inserted silver bar joining the 2 halves, this spoon is 8.8 cm and weighs 4 grammes. Even without hallmarks and with an old repair, we really like this spoon. David Clayton is perhaps the most famous English silversmith who specialized in miniatures, and to quote from Wikimedia - "David Clayton was a renowned English silversmith from London active from around 1697. His work is exhibite...

A collection of six silver miniature animals, with lovely detail. 5 of the animals are sterling 925 silver, the smallest one is 800 grade (the mouse). The 2 dogs and pair of geese are from Germany, clearly hallmarked 925 and the post 1888 moon and crown German standard mark. The snail is Italian, made by Sorini of Arezzo post 1984, the hallmarks are small but clear. The other 5 animals we believe to be older.