A pair of Cape silver dessert forks in the Fiddle pattern, with contemporary engraved initials "WHG". The initials are engraved on the back of the forks, indicating the fashion to place forks with tines down at that time. The forks are very good quality, a pleasing weight and are in excellent condition. The hallmarks are clear, and include makers mark WM and the "Cape Stub" mark, with 4 pseudo English hallmarks (see our articles section for a description of the Cape Stub).

A Cape silver tablespoon in the Old English pattern, with rare Cape hallmarks not shown by Welz in his book "Cape Silver and Silversmiths". The spoon has been well used, and has a small split (see condition description). The spoon has original owners initials CW engraved on it, the C is larger than the W, so probably done by the owner himself (overall quite quaint). The hallmarks consist of makers mark IL co-joined in oval punch, in between 2 "birds foot" devices, these marks are well struck and clear. The IL makers mark is mark 71 Welz, but the birds foot device is not recorded (Lotter also used a floral hallmark which is recorded). However, the birds foot device used by Lotter is recorded by Morrison (Silversmiths and Goldsmiths of the Cape of Good Hope, 1936, page 57, where this makers mark is pictured). A variant of this mark is also recorded by Heller (History of Cape Silver, 1949, page 151, mark MM40, which shows an extra arm to the birds foot). We can only assume this is a rare mark that was not seen b...

An early Cape silver Fiddle pattern dessert spoon, by one of the most highly renowned Cape Silversmiths, Johannes Casparus Lotter (I). The spoon has an engraved family crest of a bird (possibly a dove), this is well engraved. The hallmarks are excellent, and include makers mark .JCL struck twice in between 3 floral devices with 7 petals. This particular combination of marks is not illustrated by Welz in his book Cape Silver and Silversmiths, it is a combination of marks 76 (a distinctive .JCL maker mark), only used by Johannes Casparus Lotter (I), and mark 78, where the 7 petal floral device is used by his son Johannes Casparus Lotter (II). These hallmarks are particularly well struck, so much so that damage to the bottom left corner of the makers mark punch .JCL can clearly be seen. This leads us to believe the punch was well worn, and given this is a Fiddle pattern spoon we can assume this spoon was made towards the end of his career. Given the floral device has only been recorded in work by his son Johanne...

A pair of Cape silver teaspoons in the Fiddle pattern, with excellent hallmarks. The spoons also have a very faint and crudely scratched owners initial S on the back above the hallmarks, barely visible. The individually struck hallmarks include makers mark JT for John Townsend, pseudo duty mark, pseudo date letter a, pseudo leopards head town mark and pseudo date letter J (Welz mark 122, but struck in a different order). John Townsend (1800-1875) was an interesting character, descibed by Heller as one of the top 5 Cape silversmiths. He arrived in the Cape in 1821 on the ship Duke of Marlboro, and was involved in a number of businesses, including a hotel and auctioneering business, in addition to being goldsmith, silversmith, jeweller and watchmaker. He was embroiled in a number of court cases, mostly due to bad debt, in 1849 he stated "insufficient means to support his 10 children". He moved to Okiep in Namaqualand in 1852 as Manager of Spektakel Copper Mine, but was insolvent by 1868. He died in 1875, and is...

A rare Cape silver Kings pattern (with diamond point} dessert spoon, by Fredrik Waldek. The spoon has original engraved initials HMC, and is very good quality and gauge, as is usual for Cape Kings pattern silver, very suitable for use. The hallmarks include makers mark FW with the Cape Stub mark (see article in our articles section) of 4 pseudo English hallmarks struck in a stub (Welz mark 165). Fredrik Waldek was also a chronometer, clock maker and jeweller. Heller (History of Cape Silver) commended Waldek for "excellent workmanship", this spoon is no exception. Only Waldek and Twentyman produced Kings pattern in the Cape.

Two Cape silver tablespoons in the Fiddle pattern, with engraved initials HV, attractively engraved by hand in Colonial style. The hallmarks are excellent, makers mark DB struck twice between 3 stars (Welz mark 15). Although from the initials we can see they are a pair, they are slightly different in quality, weight and condition. 1 spoon is beautiful, good quality, weight and condition, the other less so, it is lighter and has had a rougher life.

A rare Cape twisted stem teaspoon, with spearhead handle and typical Cape floral engraving, and clear hallmarks. It is very similar to those made by Jan Byleveld circa 1820, so we can only assume it was made by Vos to match an earlier one made by Byleveld. Vos worked from 127 Long Street for 8 years, before dying at the young age of 27. He was one of the last working Cape silversmiths.

A rare Cape Silver twisted stem konfyt (preserve) fork, with spearhead handle and typical Cape floral engraving. This is similar to the pair (item S 1188), but the engraved flower lacks foliage and the only hallmark present is the makers mark, which is very clear.

A Cape silver tablespoon in the Old English pattern, with a very rare Cape silver hallmark. The spoon is good quality and weight, well preserved, and has a colonial V shaped drop. The hallmarks include makers mark WM, and a very rare Cape silver stub mark that is not depicted in Cape Silver by Welz (Welz shows the regular Cape stub mark, used by 5 silversmiths including Moore, with 4 pseudo English marks). This stub mark has the lion passant, a gothic capital A, smiling leopards head and Queen Victoria duty mark, with detailed hair. As can be seen, this is a very different stub from the one usually seen, struck with a different punch (Welz mark 100). This rare stub mark is depicted by Heller (History of Cape Silver) as MM62 (pg 154), the regular Cape stub mark is MM61 (see also our articles section for an article on the Cape stub). The hallmarks are very well struck, this is a perfect example. A third stub mark, including an anchor, is also depicted in Heller (MM63), this same mark is also present in Morrison...

A Cape silver tablespoon in the Old English pattern, with rare makers mark, which is very well struck. The tablespoon has a long drop, and initials "TA" on the back of the spoon, dating this spoon to the 18th century. The marks include makers mark "IVC" struck twice, either side of a very clear fish hallmark, complete with mouth, eye, fins and scales, this hallmark is very well struck. This is mark 171 in Cape Silver by Welz, who lists it as an unknown makers mark. The fish in Welz is not as clear as this actual hallmark. Welz also depicts the mark as "I:VG", so it must be a different punch - the dots are not present here, but the C could easily be a G. This mark is also depicted by Heller (History of Cape Silver, Vol 1) on page 163, where the fish detail is clearly visible - he attributes this mark to Johann Voigt (?), indicating the attribution had not been proved. Overall an interesting and rare Cape silver mark, extremely clear, this needs further research.

A Cape silver Fiddle pattern dessert fork, with contemporary engraved initial M. The fork has excellent hallmarks, makers mark WM and the Cape Stub mark (see our articles section) consisting of 4 English pseudo hallmarks, Lion passant, date letter capital A, Georgian kings head duty mark and leopards head (town mark for London). The fork is very good quality and weight, and is suitable for use. The tines are very long, longer than usual, this fork has probably not been used. What is interesting about this Cape stub mark is that the punch is showing signs of wear, particularly the Leopards head. This lead to a mistake in Morrison (The Silversmiths and Goldsmiths of the Cape of Good Hope, 1936, pg 59), and later Heller (History of Cape Silver), where the hallmark is mistakenly drawn as an anchor (MM63 in Heller, pg 154).

A pair of lovely steam train sterling silver spoons, depicting the Rovos Rail steam train and wagons of Southern Africa. The spoons have good detail, and show steam train, caol wagon, water wagon and passenger compartment. The passenger wagon has engraved initials RVR for Rovos Rail (see www.rovos.com), the spoons have teaspoon sixed bowls but the handles are longer. The handles are cast silver and pierced. Both spoons are hallmarked with makers mark "C.M" for Cape Mint, and also "SIL" for sterling silver. We assume the spoons were made to commemorate the opening of Rovos Rail in 1986. Rovos Rail is a luxury rail service operating in Southern Africa, the Pride of Africa has been described as the "most luxurious train in the world".

A pair of Cape silver table forks, quite Colonial in character, with excellent Cape silver hallmarks. The forks are similar to Old English pattern with 4 tines, but have a wide flattened end and semi rounded stem, more continental in character than English. The forks have original engraved initials JR, this too is Colonial in style with bright cut flecks around the initials. The hallmarks on both forks are clear, crude anchor, makers mark IC, anchor, mark 22 in Cape Silver by Welz. One fork has 2 very old (and quite crude)repairs to both external tines, it looks like they were re-attached, now very secure. Despite the repair to one fork, we really like this pair, loads of character. We have dated these forks to early in Combrink's career, prior to the arrival of the English silversmiths in 1820.

Two Cape silver tablespoons (not a pair), but both in Old English pattern and both by Johannes Combrink. The first has engraved owners initials JM in script, this spoon has excellent hallmarks, makers mark IC and the anchor (Welz mark 25), and a rounded drop. It also has the initials AFDT struck on the back of the stem, we assume another owner. The second has a slightly wider handle, no initials, and very clear makers mark IC (Welz mark 32).

A pair of Fiddle pattern Cape silver teaspoons, with original engraved initials "RHL". The teaspoons are a pleasing weight, and are well made, good quality spoons, well preserved. The spoons have a Colonial feel, the Fiddle is more flattened than English examples. The engraving of the initials is lovely, they also has a Colonial feel. The hallmarks are excellent on both spoons. The include makers mark JJV in an unusual 6 sided punch (Welz mark 161), pseudo sterling lion, and pseudo duty mark (Queen Victoria's head with good detail, and hair bun). Jacobus Vos worked from 127 Long Street, unfortunately he died young, age 27, unmarried, which is a pity as he produced good quality silver.

A cape silver dessert spoon in the Fiddle pattern, made by Daniel Beets, but with previously unrecorded hallmarks, so a rare spoon. The spoon has no engraving, but the bowl is quite battered, so we can only describe the condition as fair, so this spoon is for hallmarking interest rather than use. The hallmarks include makers mark DB struck twice, interspersed with 3 bird hallmarks, in round punch, this bird punch has only previously been recorded as used by Lawrence Twentyman. As we said this is a rare combination of marks, not recorded in Cape Silver by Welz, where he shows Beets with star and circular devices, but not with the bird punch. Heller shows a Beets mark interspersed with pseudo kings head duty marks, also not shown in Welz, which shows Beets did also occasionally use pseudo punches. Daniel Beets worked between 1812 and 1828, he was the illegitimate son of German Balthus Beets and Cape slave Angana. His son, also Daniel Beets, also practised as a silversmith, but as he probaly used his fathers pu...

A cape silver dessert spoon in the Fiddle pattern, made by Daniel Beets, but with previously unrecorded hallmarks, so a rare spoon. The spoon has no engraving, but the bowl is quite battered, so we can only describe the condition as fair, so this spoon is for hallmarking interest rather than use. The hallmarks include makers mark DB struck twice, interspersed with 3 bird hallmarks, in round punch, this bird punch has only previously been recorded as used by Lawrence Twentyman. As we said this is a rare combination of marks, not recorded in Cape Silver by Welz, where he shows Beets with star and circular devices, but not with the bird punch. Heller shows a Beets mark interspersed with pseudo kings head duty marks, also not shown in Welz, which shows Beets did also occasionally use pseudo punches. Daniel Beets worked between 1812 and 1828, he was the illegitimate son of German Balthus Beets and Cape slave Angana. His son, also Daniel Beets, also practised as a silversmith, but as he probably used his fathers p...

A Cape silver tablespoon in the Fiddle pattern, with unascribed maker mark I.D. The spoon has original owners engraved initials, now worn, first letter probably A. The makers mark is very distinctive, I.D in serrated punch, between 2 five pointed stars. This mark is not described in any of the Cape silver textbooks. The reason for ascribing this maker to Cape is that 3 known examples have now appeared, and all were sourced in the Cape, hence the attribution. The first was posted in the WWW.925-1000 silver forum in 2012 by a Cape based South African dealer, where Dognose tentatively ascribed it to American silversmith Jabez Delano (1763-1848), see the post http://9251000.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=31240. The photographs supplied have now been used on the ancestry website for Jabez Delano, in our view in error. A second tablespoon appeared on the website of South Africa's leading silver dealer, The Old Corkscrew, described as Cape but unascribed (we agree), item S373, www.theoldcorkscrew.co.za. This spoon is...

An early Cape silver tablespoon, in the Hanoverian pattern (with turned up end). The pip at the top of the stem is very pronounced, sufficient that the spoon can "hang" from a finger!. This spoon also has a very unusual "fat" drop, also with a pronounced pip, we have not seen this feature before. This probably indicates the spoon was made early on in Schmidt's career. The spoon has makers mark DHS for Daniel Heinrich Schmidt, described by Heller (History of Cape Silver) as the Cape's "Greatest Silversmith". This spoon is extremely good quality, it is pleasing to hold. The second mark is the bunch of grapes used by Schmidt. Schmidt was originally a soldier and sword cutler from Germany, he arrived in the Cape in 1768 with the VOC (Dutch East India Company). He worked until 1811 (Welz, Cape Silver, pg 139).

A rare Cape silver mustard spoon, in the Fiddle pattern with gilded bowl, and excellent hallmarks. The spoon has original engraved owners initials "J&MB". This is a lovely, well made spoon, and has pleasing proportions. The hallmarks include makers mark JT in damaged punch (Welz mark 123), and 4 pseudo marks (Georgian duty, lion passant, date letter a and tree mark). Heller does record Cape made salt and mustard spoons, and depicts 6 salt spoons in his book "History of Cape Silver" (pg 202, plate 67). Cape mustard spoons appear to be be much rarer than salt spoons, none are photographed in the literature. We now know of 4 known examples, S 1818 (sold) and a pair (S 1971), in addition to this one.