An interesting Roman silver Ligula (or spatula), used for getting cosmetics (or medicinal products) out of long necked jars (balsamaries). The ligula has a rounded shaft with a slight knob on the end, a baluster decoration on the stem (perhaps to improve grip), and a feather or leaf shaped bowl, the 2 sides joined at a 135 degree angle. The bowl also has 3 curved engraved lines, possibly for decoration. The stem is quite rough to the feel (the opposite of smooth and even), it has a number of knocks, small cracks and holes, and discouloured patches, perhaps the result of a long and rough life, but we feel more likely from impurities in the silver when it was made (we welcome opinions, this is certainly not our area of expertise, thanks)

An ancient Greek silver Drachm, set in a 14 carat gold bezel with pendant loop. The Drachm depicts Alexander the Great of the Kingdom of Macedonia, the most successful general of all history. The front shows an idealised portrait of Alexander in the guise of the mythical hero Heracles, clad in a Nemean lion skin headdress. It is in high relief, the detail is lovely. The back depicts the God Zeus, seated with bare chest, he holds a trident and has a bird in the other hand. It also contains a number of symbols and letters that indicate the mint mark for Amphipolis (right angle above torch, and M and star below chair). Amphipolis was an important naval base during the reign of Alexander, it ceased to exist around 400 AD. The pendant ring is stamped 585, indicating the gold is 14 carat. Note - it has been brought to our attention by a coin expert that this is not an original coin, but a later replica, as only Poseidan, not Zeus, should be holding a trident, apologies. We have reduced the price by 50%.

A lovely Queen Anne Dognose (also called wavy end) spoon in Brittania silver. The Dognose was popular during the Queen Anne period, and the transition between the earlier Trefid and later Hanoverian can clearly be seen. This spoon is engraved "KH" on the back of the spoon, which is correct as spoons were placed bowl down on the table at this time. The spoon has a very pronounced rat-tail, and is quite good quality, this spoon has a nice feel. The hallmarks are quite clear but squashed, as is usual for this period, as the stem was shaped after the hallmarks were struck. The hallmarks include Britannia, lions head erased, and date letter O for 1709. The makers mark is partially worn, but enough is present to positively identify Henry Greene (Grimwade 878, Jackson pg 160), with the R, distinctive shaped shield and pellet below. Greene was apprenticed to Thomas Allen (one of the First Fifteen spoonmakers), and freed in 1700. He was one of the London goldsmiths who signed the petition against "necessitous strange...

An early James II silver trefid spoon, by one of the "First Fifteen" London spoonmakers (1580-1697), as identified by Tim Kent in his book "London Silver Spoonmakers". The trefid spoon has a ribbed rat-tail, and is prick engraved "M.P over C.G", indicating this spoon celebrated a marriage. The engraving is delightful, and is contemporary. The spoon is in lovely condition, well preserved given it's age. The makers mark is superb, very clearly struck and perfectly preserved, it could not be better - easily as good as the example illustrated by Kent (pg 36), taken from the original copper plate preserved by the Goldsmiths Hall. This is Thomas Allens' pre 1697 mark. It has 3 pellets above, and a rose below, all clearly visible. The other hallmarks are visible but worn, the crowned leopards head for London, and date letter h for 1685. The lion passant is just visible, but very worn. Thomas Allen was apprenticed to John King (another of the First Fifteen) in 1668, and freed in 1675 (Grimwade pg 422). He was a speci...

An early antique silver trefid spoon, preserved in excellent condition, and with good hallmarks. The spoon is the traditional trefid shape (also called Pied de Biche, as the style originated in France), and has a lovely reeded rat-tail, which is quite rare. The spoon is engraved with contemporary initials "K * M", engraved correctly on the back of the spoon. The spoon is good quality, and has a lovely feel. The hallmarks include makers mark DO in diamond shaped punch with Fleur de Lys above and below. This mark belongs to Dorothy Grant (Grimwade 3591, Jackson pg 136, under 1680). Dorothy Grant was the widow of William Grant, she worked until 1712, both her sons Benjamin and William apprenticed under her (Grimwade pg 527). Other marks include crowned leopards head (worn), lion passant and date letter O for 1691, which is very clear. Note: We had originally ascribed this mark to John Downes (Jackson, pg 155, Wyler, pg 145, Grimwade pg 46), but this mark is clearly in a diamond rather than circular punch used by...

An interesting open salt in triangular form, with central circular salt, and 3 cast hoof feet. The salt is decorated with 3 male busts, with high collars and long flowing hair, completed with hanging swags, which are repeated in the hand chased pierced border, which is very intricate with gadrooning and balls. The triangles on top have a floral design. Three hallmarks are present, small crown, large Fleur De Lys, and small device (possibly flower in pot?). We are not able to positively identify these hallmarks, one possibility in Neisse on the Polish border, but all assistance welcome, thank you. We have found similar examples of this triangular formed salt in the V&A museum, hence our tentative attribution to 17th century Germany, they are described as "Small triangular salt cellars mounted on three feet were common pieces of tableware in affluent homes in late 16th-century Germany. The cities of southern Germany dominated the goldsmiths craft there from the 15th to the early 19th centuries. Their goldsmiths...

A very worn late 17th century Lace Back Trefid spoon, of interest as is has some very rare features, so despite the poor condition of the spoon we have added it to our website. The spoon has a rounded terminal with no ears, sometimes called a spatula end, this is a feature of early Scottish trefid spoons, hence our tentative description as Scottish. The spoon has a reeded rat tail, the lace decoration on the front of the terminal is worn but distinct, the lace decoration on the back of the bowl is very worn, almost gone on one side of the bowl, with some features faintly visible on the other side. The spoon is engraved on the back with owners initials TK surrounded by arrows, this engraving is lovely. The front has another very faint set of scratched initials CS, also with arrow, only visible in strong light. The spoon has 3 partially struck or worn hallmarks, the first a crown above (leopard head?), the second possibly a date letter (C?), the third is just a squiggle. The book "Silver Spoons of Britain 1200...

An interesting 17th century traveling knife and fork, in leather sheath, with matching pin in the front of the sheath (for attachment to belt?). The knife, fork and pin have lion heads with open mouth, made in brass or bronze above mixed material handles, dark grained wood, lighter carved wood, brass pins, circular plugs (yellow material), diamond steel, quite an attractive design. The steel blade has a distinctive makers mark, II IS with a cross in-between, with dots in triangular shape either end, some dots above and below as well (we welcome assistance with identification, thanks). The blade also has a hookat the handle end. The fork is 2 pronged, with a pierced heart shaped connection to handle, with engraving. The leather sheath is also lovely, finely decorated with scrolls, dots and zig-zags. This is not our area of expertise, but we have seen similar sets in the book "Eight Centuries of European Knives, Forks and Spoons by Klaus Marquardt, for example the 16th century Italian examples have very simila...

A late 17th century Augsburg silver brandy bowl, with a beautiful embossed scene in high relief. The bowl is the traditional shape, a scalloped oval dish with 2 scroll handles, with the base and sides embossed in great detail. The base features a basket of fruit, flowers and nuts in abundance, under 2 flying doves holding a laurel wreath, below rays (we assume to signify God looking down on a bountiful harvest). The sides are embossed with scrolls, the sides are also gilded, with quite a bit or original gilding still present, the base has no gilding. The bowl is clearly hallmarked with the Augsburg town mark of a pyr (pinecone), not a pineapple as sometimes described. The bowl is also hallmarked with an indistinct makers mark, we think PL (all assistance welcome), and a well defined assay scrape (zigzag).

A rare west country seal top silver spoon, with a Salisbury Group A finial. The seal top is prick engraved "E.B over T.B, 1661", indicating the celebration of a marriage. The bowl is fig shaped, and the stem is tapered and faceted. A small rat-tail connects the bowl to the stem. The seal top join is clearly visible at the back of the spoon, a horizontal join, as opposed to V joint seen on London spoons. The seal top is a decorative baluster casting, of substantial size, decorated with scrolls and gadrooning. This has been described by Tim Kent as a "Salisbury Group A" (Salisbury Silver and its Makers, 1550-1700, Silver Society Journal 3), where similar examples are illustrated on page 16. Kent has recognised that many West Country seal tops of the period were made by one silversmith who specialised in seal top castings, and who distributed them to the silversmiths of the area. Kent also identifies John Smith II as one of the silversmiths who used these (he cites an example of a Salisbury type B found on a sea...

A Spanish silver porringer, inset with a Spanish eight reale coin (one of the famous "pieces of eight") dated 1618, the reign of Philip III (1578-1621). The porringer is hand beaten, with the individual hammer marks clearly visible, creating an attractive pattern. The rim is folded over, and the cast flat handle has a scrolling design. The handle is quite crudely cast, we believe a sign of age. We have dated the porringer 17th century to co-incide with the date of the coin, but it could be later, with an old coin inset. The coin is well preserved on both sides. The reverse reads "Hispania RVM REX 1618" (King of the Spanish), with 2 castles and lion rampants in quatrefoil design (Arms of Castile & Leon). The obverse has the crowned Hapsburg shield, with the Segovia aqueduct mint mark and assayer initial A to the left, and VIII (8 reales) demarcation to the right. It reads "Philippus III DG". The porringer has 4 hallmarks, but given their proximity to the rim are only partially struck, so they are not clearly ...

Beautiful 17th century memorial (memento mori) matching spoon and fork set in outstanding condition, we feel they deserve to be in a museum. Both have cast triangular handles with an unusual finial, which appears to be a naked woman with a serpents head. The fork has 3 prongs, and the spoon has a crude short rattail. Both are engraved " SARA LEWES Obyt 7 Juny 1672". This set is illustrated and described on page 90-91 of the book "Cape Silver" by Stephan Welz, 1976. Welz describes them as possibly Cape, but we feel they are more likely to be Dutch. A very similar spoon is depicted on page 142 of "Dutch Silver" by M.H. Guns, the spoon has an almost identical bowl and shaft. No hallmarks are present. Note: - The curator of the Silver Dept, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, has now described this set as Auricular form, typical of Netherlands in the second half of the 17 th century. His opinion is that it is probably colonial, as known Dutch examples have hallmarks. Note 1 - This set has now been featured in an excellent a...

Early sealtop spoon with squat fluted baluster terminal, engraved with original owners initials VV (or W). These initials are repeated on the bowl above the hallmark. The stem is hexagonal and tapered, and the V joint attaching the finial is clearly visible. The bowl has deep concave sides, and curves steeply from the base of the stem. The stem has 3 hallmarks at the base, a clearly visible "orb and cross" makers mark, and worn marks indicating lion passant and date mark S. The bowl has the usual towmmark, but this is worn, with only the outline visible. This spoon comes complete with an original receipt from H Perovetz Ltd of London, who sold it to Mr McCay of South Africa in 1979 for 700 pounds. The receipt and original Perovetz tag confirms the maker and date, and refers to Jackson pg 105 and How pg 228, plate 8. (Note: In our previous description we had mentioned some doubt about the London attribution, suggesting the makers mark could possibly be the Cobbold's of Norwich, given the shape of the shield ...

A very rare and well preserved slip top spoon, of good gauge, by one of the "First Fifteen" London spoonmakers as identified by Tim Kent (London Silver Spoonmakers, 1500-1697). The slip top is engraved "BB, Feb 13, 1632", in a very attractive fashion, so probably was a Christening present. The spoon has a curved fig shaped bowl, and tapered hexagonal stem, ending in the slipped end. The bowl is hallmarked with crowned leopards head, the base of the stem with makers mark "D enclosing C" for Daniel Cary, alongside a well struck lion passant, and date letter O for 1631, struck at the end of the stem, as is usual during this period. The stem is attached to the bowl with a very stubby and rough rat tail, also usual for the period. This is a lovely spoon, and has a very good feel about it, I am tempted to use it (but have resisted!). A very similar spoon to this by Daniel Cary was sold in the Alexander James Collection of Early English Spoons, by Phillips in 1979. Lot 36 (pg 55), shows a slip top spoon made by Dani...

An extremely rare child's puritan spoon, dating back to the Commonwealth period, when Oliver Cromwell was Lord Protector of England. The spoon has a flat stem with straight sides, and a curved spade shaped bowl. The spoon also has a small V shaped drop. The puritan spoon replaced the slip-top spoon (with hexagonal stem and fig shaped bowl) during the early Commonwealth period, and gained it's name from Cromwell's Puritan soldiers opposed to King Charles I, who considered the more elaborate Apostle spoons "irreverant" (Gask, Old Silver Spoons of England, pg 92). Given that so much silver was melted down during and after the English civil war, Puritan spoons are rare, and the smaller children's puritan spoons are extremely rare. A very similar spoon to this, described as "Rare Charles I child's puritan spoon, 1646, exhibited in Cardiff Museum" was sold as lot 35 of the famous "Alexander James Collection of Early English Silver Spoons", Phillips 1979, with an estimate of GBP 500-600. Steven Venables worked in L...

A provincial silver Seal Top spoon, with an acanthus baluster seal top, which is probably a Taunton casting. The seal top is well made, and has remnants of gilding throughout, especially in the recessed areas. The stem is flattened hexagonal, and the bowl is the traditional fig shape, and it has a small rat-tail . The seal top has remnants of prick engraving, some pricks clearly visible, but not enough to read what was engraved. The spoon bowl itself is the traditional shape, with deep bowl, curving down from the stem. The spoon is struck 3 times by the same makers mark, once in the bowl and twice on the stem. The marks are not very clear, either they are worn or more probably struck with a worn punch. The punch has a rough shield shape with irregular edge, with a trifid top edge (Poole, Identifying British Silver, punch shapes, pg 15). The figure in the punch has a smaller roughly circular shape on top of a larger circular shape, our imagination runs to a crown over rose, piece of fruit or even a bird (with ...

A Charles I silver seal top communion spoon, which has holes in the bowl for straining communion wine. The seal top has the original initials "C over A=L", which is quite crudely engraved. The baluster seal top has traces of gilding, and is attached with a V-shaped joint, as is usual with London spoons. The hexagonal stem is tapered, joined to the bowl with a small rat tail. The fig shaped bowl is quite deep, and has been punched with holes in 3 concentric circles. The bowl is struck with the crowned leopard's head, the crown is clear, but the face is worn. The 3 hallmarks on the stem are clear, and include sterling lion, date letter B for 1639 and maker's mark D enclosing C for Daniel Cary. Cary was a prolific spoon maker. He worked between 1604 and 1639, he died in 1641. Cary is one of the "First Fifteen London spoon makers 1580 - 1697" As identified by Tim Kent in his book "London Silver Spoonmakers", which we highly recommend. Steven Venables, another notes spoon maker, was one of Cary's appren...

A rare and interesting 17th century silver spice box/ vinaigrette, with a polished oval agate panel set in the lid. The box is beautifully engraved, particularly the base which has 2 birds reaching for a hanging bundle of fruit. The box in rectangular with cut corners (so octagonal in shape), the raised lid is cushion shaped, with a mounted oval of polished orange agate. The box has a protruding thumb piece for easy opening, and stand-away (protruding). The engraving is mostly scrolling foliage, with a border of acanthus leaves, the base and hinge have a diaper border. The rim has 2 sets of engraving, the first reads "EF 1711" on the front side panel, the next reads "WC 1714" on the 2 side panels. These were engraved by different hands, the second WC 1714 is much cruder than the first, which is quite charming, with cross hatching inside the letters and "double engraved" numbers, the first could have been professionally engraved, the second probably done by the new owner. The interior of the box is interestin...

A rare Charles II Restoration period silver porringer, made by Ralph Leeke, one of the leading goldsmiths of the late 17th century, in 1669. The porringer is the traditional shape and size (noticeably larger than later examples), and is chased in high relief with a running stag and hunting hound, surrounded by bold Stuart flowers (we think daffodils and poppies), these bold flowers predate the commoner restrained acanthus decoration introduced around 1680. The porringer has the traditional cast caryatid scroll handles with faces on both sides. The flat circular base is engraved with original owners initials F/SM, the engraving has character. The porringer has 6 hallmarks on the base, crowned leopards head town mark for London, date letter Gothic M for 1669 (slight wear to top but unmistakable for 1669), Lion passant, and makers mark RL above trefoil in shaped shield struck 3 times, 2 are partially worn but still readable and 1 mark is very clear. Ralph Leeke (or Leake) has been described as "a fine 17th centu...

A very interesting West Country Provincial Apostle spoon, made by Thomas Dare II of Taunton. The Apostle has a circular nimbus with flying dove, the modelling is slightly crude (for example facial features not very distinct), his right hand is higher than his left, he appears to be holding something stretching between both hands, possibly the bat of St James, but this could also be a fold in his robe. He stands on the usual pedestal, and retains a pleasing amount of the original gilding. The join is flat (as opposed to London made V joint spoons), as is usual for provincial spoons, the stem is flat front and back but has rounded edges. It joins to the bowl with a small crude rat-tail, the bowl is the traditional fig shape, with deep bowl and strong curve from stem. This Apostle could also be St Matthew or St John, but safest to describe it as a generic Apostle spoon with no coherant emblem. The spoon is struck 4 times with makers mark TD in shaped shield over Fleur De Lys (M 38 in Tim Kent's book "West Count...