A Cape silver tablefork in the Old English pattern, with 4 tines. The fork was made by Johannes Combrink who worked between 1814 and 1853. The hallmarks are well struck and clear, Welz mark 24, makers mark IC with canted corners and anchor hallmark.

A very rare Cape silver tablespoon in the Old English pattern, by a very rare maker whose work is seldom seen. The makers mark FLH is excellent, very well struck, this is accompanied by an anchor mark in a circular punch (mark 51 in Cape Silver by Welz). Herman (or Hermann) was born in the Cape in 1778, he worked between 1810 and 1811 from 38 Long Street. He was regarded as "one of the finest of all Cape silversmiths" by David Heller, in his book History of Cape Silver. He made a very fine covered sugar bowl, which is depicted on pg 101 of Cape Silver by Stephan Welz.

Beautiful pair of plain Cape tablespoons, with very clear makers mark. Both these spoons have the initial H lightly engraved on the back of the spoon shafts.

A Cape silver Fiddle pattern tablespoon, with a rare makers mark. The spoon has engraved initials CJP, these are original and Colonial, the P slants at an angle. The hallmarks are excellent, makers mark DH in serrated punch, surrounded by 2 circular punch devices, Welz mark 56. The serrated edge was not shown by Welz, but it is shown by Heller Vol II, page 122, mark NMM 19. This is significant as no other Cape silversmith used a serrated edge punch. Daniel Hockly is one of the few Cape silversmiths trained prior to arrival in the Cape, whose work is known from both areas. Hockly trained in London, was registered as a smallworker in 1810, and is known for high quality wine labels (Grimwade mark 470, 473, page 548). He emigrated to the Cape in 1819, one of the "1820 Settlers", he arrived in Algoa Bay (now Port Elizabeth) in 1820 on board the SS Chapman, with 256 other settlers, his wife Elizabeth and 3 children, their 4th child Fanny Chapman was born onboard. The family remained in the Eastern Cape, spending ti...

A Cape silver konfyt (preserve) fork in the Fiddle pattern, with 3 tines. The only hallmark is the makers mark J.B which is clear, mark 16 in Cape Silver by Welz. Beyleveld was born in the Cape in 1792, he worked from Waterkant and Loop Street.

A Cape silver salt spoon in the Fiddle pattern, with no engraving or gilding. The spoon has clear hallmarks, makers mark LT and 4 pseudo hallmarks (duty mark, date letter d, castle town mark and bird), this is mark 132 in Cape Silver by Welz, but with the individual marks struck in a different order.

A Dutch silver coin box, a circular cylinder in shape, with Dutch coins set in the lid and the base. The cylinder is attractive, with detailed engraved decoration, 2 bands with a floral motif. The lid and base also have a textured gadrooned rim, which aids in opening and closing. The coin in the lid has a crowned W for Willem I of Holland, and date 1825. The coinin the base has crown over lion rampant holding sword and bushel, and denomination 10 c for ten cents, this coin is dated 1827 on the reverse in interior. The box is well made, and in excellent condition, perhaps it was intended for gambling counters. There are no hallmarks, but the coin in the lid is faintly engraved on the reverse with "B4565 over sla". One coin has the palm Brussels mint mark for GD Bourgogne Herlaer (1821-1830), the other has the mercury staff Utrecht Koninlijke Nederlandse mint mark.

A pair of Irish Provincial silver teaspoons, in the Fiddle pattern, with STERLING hallmarks. The spoons have original owners initials SL, small and engraved by hand, very provincial in nature. Both spoons are clearly hallmarked "STERLING", well struck and clear, but the punch a little worn, and the letters quite crude and blurry - so a home made punch. This mark was used by Silversmiths in both Cork and Limerick, more research on the style of the punch is required.

A Chinese Export silver dessert spoon in the Fiddle pattern, with no engraving. The spoon is good quality, easily comparable to an English Georgian example. The hallmarks are good, with only slight wear to the top of the makers mark, and include pseudo duty mark, pseudo crowned leopards head (London town mark pre 1821), pseudo date letter P in incuse rectangle with cut corners, pseudo lion passant and makers mark WE WE WC. This is an imitation of the makers mark for William Eley, William Fearn and William Chawner. The Chinese Export silver collectors guide (4th edition, pg 763-767) says this maker remains unidentified, but was responsible "for an astounding production of silver items, almost all in the European neo-classical style. The work of WE WE WC is par excellence, it can rival the best of English, European and American silversmiths of the Georgian era. There is no such thing as a poor piece of WE WE WC silver. To have the wherewithal to create silver that rivaled the finest European and American silver...

A Chinese Export silver dessertspoon in the Fiddle pattern, with very clear pseudo hallmarks. The spoon has original engraved initials (now worn), and has been well used. The hallmarks include pseudo lion passant, pseudo crowned leopard's head town mark, makers mark YS and pseudo duty mark, these marks are very clearly struck, but show wear to the punches from prolonged use. The website www.chineseexportsilver.com also notes that "Yatshing silver is always of a high standard", and the book "Chinese Export Silver describes Yatshing as "quite prolific".

A lovely Irish silver Bright Cut Celtic Point tablespoon, with traditional Dublin Star cut on the terminal. The spoon has an oval cartouche, with engraved family crest of a Griffin holding branch with leaves, this is crisp and clear. The spoon is bottom marked, and unusually has excellent hallmarks (bottom marked hallmarks are oftern squashed), they could not be better. The include Dublin Hibernia and Harp Crowned, date letter O for 1786, and makers mark J.S for John Shiels (or Sheils) who worked between 1762 and 1790.

A Chinese Export silver dessert fork in the Fiddle Thread and Shell pattern, one of the most popular Fiddle pattern variants. The fork is excellent quality and gauge, easily comparable to an English Georgian example. The hallmarks are excellent, and include pseudo duty mark, pseudo crowned leopards head (London town mark pre 1821), pseudo date letter P in incuse rectangle with cut corners, pseudo lion passant and makers mark WE WE WC. This is an imitation of the makers mark for William Eley, William Fearn and William Chawner. The Chinese Export silver collectors guide (4th edition, pg 763-767) says this maker remains unidentified, but was responsible "for an astounding production of silver items, almost all in the European neo-classical style. The work of WE WE WC is par excellence, it can rival the best of English, European and American silversmiths of the Georgian era. There is no such thing as a poor piece of WE WE WC silver. To have the wherewithal to create silver that rivaled the finest European and Ame...

An interesting coin silver American single struck Kings shape Thread and Shell pattern teaspoon, made by Samuel Kirk between 1824 and 1827. Whilst we describe this as a teaspoon, it is a large and heavy teaspoon, perfect for eating dessert. Single struck flatware means the pattern is only struck on one side, this only occurred in Scotland in the UK. The spoon has the original owners engraved family crest, a human head with full beard. The spoon has 3 hallmarks, makers mark S.Kirk in serrated rectangular punch for Samuel Kirk, Baltimore Coat of Arms large oval shield mark (quality mark), date letter C for 1824 - 1827, these are all well struck and clear. This dates to a very interesting period in US silver history, Baltimore between 1814 and 1830 was the only place and date where hallmarks were required on silver in the USA. The State Legislature of Maryland passed the Assay Act of 1814, which set the quality standard at 917, the Act was repealed in 1830 due to opposition by the affected silversmiths, includ...

An interesting Cape silver tablespoon, that appears more Continental than Cape in style. It is Fiddle pattern, but without the shoulders seen in English Fiddle pattern, and the drop has a wide oval shape, another Continental silver feature. The spoon has a single hallmark, makers mark DC, well struck but by quite a crude, home made punch, with flaws in both letters. This punch is a different one from the one depicted in Welz (Cape Silver, pg 146, mark 21), but has been noted on other Cape Silver, so we are confident it is by Collinet (no other Cape silversmiths have initial DC). Collinet was born in Liege, Belgium, he worked in the Cape between 1810 and 1825. We assume he made this spoon early in his career, certainly before 1820 when a number of English silversmiths arrived in the Cape and dictated the style of silver.

A rare Cape silver salt spoon, in the Fiddle pattern, struck twice with a makers mark not depicted in any of the Cape silver reference books (although Ince is recorded in both Morrison and Welz). The spoon is struck twice with makers mark INCE, which is very distinct. The spoon is quite crudely made, slightly out of shape, it appears hand made in primitive conditions, it has a strong Colonial feel. The makers mark INCE is recorded by Turner as unascribed Scottish Provincial (Directory of Scottish Provincial Silversmiths, pg 84). It was also recorded as "unascribed Scottish" by Jackson (2nd edition, pg 557, on a tablespoon circa 1770, owned by The Marquess of Breadalbane) - this had been corrected by the third edition. We believe that the possible Scottish attribution is incorrect, and should be corrected to Cape. A number of other Cape silver items made by Joseph Ince are known, including 3 items in the Mullne collection, now in a museum in Pretoria, all struck twice with INCE. In addition, a South Africa...

A Scottish provincial toddy ladle, made by David Gray of Dumfries, but with Edinburgh hallmarks for 1818. The ladle is Fiddle pattern, and has a beautiful crest of a crowned swan, standing with wings outstretched, with motto "Be Mindful". This is the crest and motto of Clan Campbell of Cawdor, headed by Earl Cawdor of Cawdor castle. The hallmarks are very clear, including triple cusp duty mark. The D of the makers mark appears to overstrike a P, but the G is very clear. The ladle also has a small heart shaped journeyman's mark.

A typical Cape silver konfyt (preserve) fork with 3 tines, in the Old English pattern, with traditional Cape engraved decoration, consisting of crude stars and a zig-zag pattern which extends all the way to the tines. The makers mark IL is very clear. Jan Lotter, who was regarded by Heller as "a highly skilled craftsman", only worked for 4 years between 1813 and 1817, so he probably died young. He made most of the prized Cape silver "lemoenlepels" (orange spoons) known to exist today.

Typically Cape konfyt (preserve) fork, in the Fiddle pattern. The hallmarks are also typically Cape (WC or WG?) in a shaped punch, between 2 crude stars. The makers mark is a little indistinct, either a worn or mistruck punch, or could even be overstruck. Given this is an unrecorded maker not listed in any of the reference books (as far as we can determine), it could have another Colonial origin.

Plain marrowscoop with a long drop, in lovely condition and with very clear hallmarks. The makers mark is very deeply struck. Schofield, who worked from Temple Bar, was reknowned for his impeccable craftmanship. He worked for the Royal Silversmiths Jeffries, Jones and Gilbert.

Unusual cape shellback tablespoon, this is the only example of a Cape shellback we have seen. Very clear English pseudo hallmarks and makers mark. Twentyman moved to India in 1832, where he continued to trade as a silversmith.