A rare Cape silver sauce ladle, in the Old English pattern, made by Johannes Combrink circa 1820. The ladle has a long drop, which given the date shows it's Colonial nature, and has nice proportions. It is engraved with an attractive family crest, a bent raised arm holding a dagger, this is very crisply engraved. The ladle has 2 makers marks, both clearly struck, (Welz mark 31). Johannes Combrink was born in the Cape in 1781, he married Aurelia Lotter in 1807 and died in 1853. He worked from Dorp Street.

A set of 2 Cape silver dessert forks in the Kings pattern, one by Lawrence Twentyman and the other by Fredrik Waldek. These forks match S 1864 and S 1865, we have put these 2 together to show an unusual variance in length. Whilst both are Cape Kings pattern dessert forks, they have a 1.2 cm difference in length (the shorter fork is also lighter, 54 vs 62 grammes). The difference is the stem only, the decoration top and bottom is identical, as are the length of tines. It is believed that Twentyman imported dies for Kings pattern to the Cape circa 1830 and that Waldek took over the dies in 1836, but we cannot explain the difference in length, all suggestions welcome. We have carefully studied the forks, there is no evidence they have been lengthened or shortened. The forks are double struck (pattern on both sides), and have the diamond heel, as is usual with Cape silver Kings pattern. Cape silver in Kings pattern is quite rare, it was only produced by these 2 silversmiths, Twentyman and Waldek, who took over T...

A pair of Cape silver dessert forks in the Kings pattern, by Lawrence Twentyman. The forks are very good quality and gauge, a pleasure to hold. The forks are double struck (pattern on both sides), and have the diamond heel, as is usual with Cape silver Kings pattern. Cape silver in Kings pattern is quite rare, it was only produced by 2 silversmiths, Twentyman and Waldek, who took over Twentymans business. The hallmarks are very clear on both forks, and include pseudo lion passant, Georgian duty, date letter a and crowned leopard's head, along with makers mark LT. The forks have no monograms or engraving, and none has been removed.

A pair of Cape silver dessert forks in the Kings pattern, by Fredrik Waldek. The forks are very good quality and gauge, but a little shorter than usual. The forks are double struck (pattern on both sides), and have the diamond heel, as is usual with Cape silver Kings pattern. Cape silver in Kings pattern is quite rare, it was only produced by 2 silversmiths, Twentyman and Waldek, who took over Twentyman's business. The hallmarks are very clear on both forks, and include pseudo Georgian duty, date letter a and crowned leopard's head, along with makers mark FW, which is slightly worn. The forks have no monograms or engraving, and none has been removed. Waldek had a long career as a Cape silversmith, chronometer, clockmaker and jeweller, he worked between 1830 and 1877. He took over Twentyman's shop and partnership on Heerengracht in 1836. The forks have shorter stems than other examples, see S 1866 for a comparative example.

A Cape silver konfyt fork in the Fiddle pattern, with 3 tines. The tines are different from most konfyt forks, these are quite fat, widely spaced and short (3.3. cm). The fork has original owners initials TFM, the engraving in an unusual script, quite pleasing overall. The fork has makers mark I.B in oval punch, with the I and B co-joined. This is depicted in the book "Cape Silver and Silversmiths" by Stephan Welz as mark 20, page 146, for Johan Anton Bunning, a German soldier who arrived in the Cape in 1758 and died in 1793. He mark is confirmed as he made silver for the Dutch Reformed Church, whose records confirm him as maker, but the Fiddle pattern style of the fork is problematic, as it was only introduced circa 1800, so it is unlikely he made this fork. A number of alternatives exist, it could have been made by a son (Cape silversmiths regularly carried on using punches created by fathers). More likely is that this is the mark of another Cape silversmith, whose mark has not yet been attributed. IB or JB...

A rare pair of Cape Silver lemoen lepels (orange spoons), with an interesting provenance, they featured in the book Cape Silver and Silversmiths by Stephan Welz, pg 93. The spoons are the traditional lemoen lepel shape, with narrow, pointed boat shaped bowl, and triangular terminal, and Cape prick engraving. The spoons have a very elegant shape, the bowls deep and curved, the drop is distinctly v shaped, they have a lovely feel in the hand. Both spoons are clearly hallmarked with makers mark IL in rectangular punch for Jan Lotter, and also are punched with initials HB, we assume the original owner. Welz describes orange spoons as"probably the most attractive type of spoon made at the Cape, derived from Dutch spoons", pg 95. He also notes that all known examples are by Cape born silversmiths of the early 19th century (so not made by the more prolific English immigrants who arrived after 1815). Jan Lotter, who died young after a short career (1813-1817), was part of the Lotter family of Cape silversmiths, he ma...

A Cape silver konfyt fork, in the Old English pattern with feather edge decoration and 3 tines, dating it around 1790 to 1800. The fork is struck with a makers mark only, i:V:G in an unusual shaped punch, which moulds around the dotted i. This fork matches S 1787, the main difference being longer tines (we believe original, these have not been shortened) and a makers mark that is good but not as clearly struck as the other. Welz describes this maker as unknown, but Heller (History of Cape Silver Vol I, pg 163) lists this maker as Johann Voigt? Both authors depict a different IVG punch from this one, with an additional fish hallmark (see our tablespoon S 1571 by the same maker to see the different punch and fish hallmark). Overall we agree with Welz and are not convinced by the attribution to Voigt, it seems far more likely to belong to a "van G" maker (for example van Graan, a known Cape name). Overall an interesting hallmark that requires further research. Note - a matching konfyt fork by the same maker is a...

A Cape silver konfyt fork by the respected silversmith Johan Hendrik Vos, part of the Vos family of Cape Silversmiths. The fork is quite long and elegant, in the Old English pattern, and has no engraving. It has 3 tines, (later forks have 4 tines), so probably dates to before 1800. The fork also has a wide semi circular drop, also indicative of a date before 1800. The hallmarks are excellent, and consist of a square punch with 4 dots struck twice, either side of makers mark JHV in script in oval punch (Welz mark 152, Cape Silver and Silversmiths). Vos worked between 1766 and 1810, he apprenticed with Johann Hasse between 1761 and 1766. He married in 1770 and had 12 children, his wife Elizabeth continued his business after he died in 1810 by adding the hallmark Wed (Weduwee, or widow) next to his JHV makers mark (Welz mark 154). The Vos Family produced over 10 Cape Silversmiths between 1748 and 1862 (Heller, History of Cape Silver Vol 1, pg 66-71, and page 269 for a family tree). The 4 dot square punch was als...

A good set of early Old English tablespoons, with narrow elegant handles characteristic of the earlier Old English pattern. These spoons also have the initial B, and very clear hallmarks. These spoons all have the rare incuse duty mark (George III looking left), which was only in use for 18 months. As can be seen from the photographs, these marks are well struck and remain crisp, with no wear. George Smith was a prolific spoonmaker, this period predates his partnership with William Fearn (1786), the firm later became Eley and Fearn.

Elegant, plain, oval shaped boat shaped salts with beaded rim, on an oval pedestal. Interiors are gilt. Very clear hallmarks. These are good quality salts by a well regarded maker.

An antique Dutch silver vinaigrette (zilveren lodereindoosje) in the form of an armoire (kabinet). These have also been described as pomanders, scent boxes, and also incorrectly described as snuff boxes and peppermint boxes. The box is rectangular in shape, with an engraved armoire, complete with drawers, it also has a pierced rim on the lid. The back is decorated with an engraved flower, while the base, sides and lid have engraved wrigglework decoration. The lid is clearly hallmarked with maker mark IS under star (makers mark 10121 in the book "Netherlands Responsibility Marks since 1797") for Johannes Jacobus Smits, who worked in Schoonhoven between 1823 and 1824. The lid also has a very clear date letter O for 1823. The rim of the box also has makers mark and Minerva head office mark (duty mark). Loderein comes from the French "l'eau de reine" translated "water of the king", as only the wealthy could afford the perfumed cologne.

Beautiful, solid, engine turned box with vacant cartouche. Excellent hinge and very snug closure. This box is a very good weight and slightly larger than other snuffboxes. Attractive thumbpiece and gilt interior.

A Chinese Export silver dessert spoon in the Fiddle pattern, by a rare unidentified maker who used a letter E makers mark. The spoon has original owners engraved initial (I or Y) in Gothic script. The hallmarks are very clear, and include a very distinctive pseudo lion passant without tail, makers mark E with a very distinctive font, pseudo crowned leopard's head and pseudo duty mark. This mark is depicted in the book "Chinese Export Silver 1785-1885 by Forbes, page 244, figure 235, which are present on an egg set. The maker E worked in the 2nd quarter of the 19th century in Canton.

A pair of Cape silver table forks in the Fiddle pattern, without any engraving. The forks are in excellent condition, they have not seen much use at all. Both forks are clearly hallmarked with makers mark LT and 4 pseudo hallmarks (lion passant, duty mark, date letter a and crowned leopard's head town mark), this is mark 135 in the book Cape Silver by Stephan Welz.

A beautiful and thought provoking pair of German silver sugar tongs, with the words "Zum Andenken" cast into the bow (translated "In Memory Of"). The tongs have 2 distinct parts, the top half has a strip with the words Zum Andenken between highly decorated flowers, surrounded by scrolling filigree work, the detail and amount of work is astounding, the bottom half have pressed acanthus leaves for the arms, with the tong bowls in the shape of hands holding 3 flower buds. The tongs are delicate but are in remarkably good condition, we assume the have been treasured and well looked after. The tongs have 2 hallmarks, a clear 13 for 13 Loth silver (813 grade), this was used before 1886. The second mark is small and distinct but we cannot identify it, possibly an animal head?, we assume it is either a city mark or makers mark. These tongs are probably "Memento Mori", and would have been presented at a funeral. This style of highly decorative German silver is typical of the Biedermeier period in central Europe (1815-...

A Cape silver konfyt fork in the Fiddle pattern, with 3 tines. The fork has the original owners initials PJS, quite quaintly engraved in Colonial style.The fork has excellent hallmarks, they could not be better. They include makers mark MLS and the leaf device, with the veins clearly visible (Welz mark 117). Smith was a Dane who arrived in the Cape as a VOC employee in 1757 aged 35, he died in 1806. He led an interesting life, he married 4 times, and had 10 children.

A lovely pair of rat tail Hanoverian tablespoons, with an armorial engraved on the back of each spoon. The spoons are very pleasing quality and weight, and in excellent condition. They were made in 1766 by John Lampfert, who worked between 1748 and 1769, he was predominantly a spoonmaker (Grimwade, London Goldsmiths, pg 574). The spoons are "out of period", their style is 1710-1730, so were probably made to match an existing set. The hallmarks are bottom marked, and are in excellent condition.The arms are those of the family of Ridge impaling those of the family of Brooke with the husband dexter (right), Ridge and the wife sinister (left), Brooke. We have commissioned a heraldic report (which accompanies these spoons), it identifies George Ridge and Elizabeth Brooke of Portsmouth, who were married in 1735. The Ridge family estate was Kilmeston Manor, Hampshire. Their son Captain William Ridge was Aide-du Camp to Lord Halifax, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. He also served in America in the 60th Royal American Reg...

A lovely Dutch silver sugar sifter in the Empire style, made by Pieter Kuijlenburg in Schoonhoven in 1830. The sifter ladle has a wide oval curved bowl, quite deep, with a beaded rim, and intricate piercing of the bowl. The centre is an eight pointed star, with 8 radiating arrows interspersed with patterned dots, surrounded by a cross and semi circle pattern. The curved, elegant handle has a pointed terminal, it is beautifully engraved with a bright cut pattern, including stems with leaves and flowers. The Empire style is a Neo-Classical revival style, that became popular in France, Belgium and the Netherlands after the rise of Napoleon. The hallmarks include makers mark PKB under kappie for Pieter Kuijlenburg, Lion passant 2nd standard (833 purity), Minerva head duty mark, and date letter script V for 1830 (the date letter struck inside the bowl). Kuijlenburg worked in Schoonhoven as a silversmith between 1818 and 1831, he was born in 1791 and died in 1868, he had 6 children including Adrianus who was also a...

A rare Cape silver condiment ladle, the only one we have encountered. The ladle is Fiddle pattern, similar in shape to a salt spoon, but with a long elegant handle, 3 to 4 cm longer than a saltspoon. The hallmarks are clear, the Cape Stub mark with 4 pseudo English marks, and makers mark FW. The stub mark is slightly worn at the bottom, the makers mark is clear. Waldek had a long career in the Cape between 1830 and 1877, he took over Twentyman's shop on the Heerengraght in 1836.

An early Irish silver rat-tail Hanoverian tablespoon, made in 1729 by Esther Forbes, the widow of Robert Forbes. The spoon is lovely quality, a pleasing weight, and in remarkably good condition. The spoon has a deep frontal rib running halfway down the handle, with a strong turn-up, and the traditional rat-tail used before 1730. The spoon has original engraved family crest on the back of the spoon (spoons were placed face down at this period), the crest featured a raised arm in armour holding a cross (slight wear to the cross). The 3 hallmarks are clear, makers mark EF in oval punch (slight wear to F, looks more like EE), date letter gothic K for 1729, and crowned harp, with slight wear but clearly discernable. This spoon predates the Irish Hibernia mark which was introduced in 1731. Robert Forbes worked between 1701 and his death in 1718, his widow Esther continued the business until 1729. A number of their spoons have survived. Robert was a Quarter Brother (Collecting Irish Silver by Douglas Bennett, page 1...