Search found 875 matches

by blakstone
Fri Jun 16, 2023 12:17 pm
Forum: French Silver
Topic: A profusion of marks_Louis-Joseph Thomas tastevin
Replies: 1
Views: 1322

Re: A profusion of marks_Louis-Joseph Thomas tastevin

When new marks were introduced in 1808, 1819 and 1838, makers were given a brief period, usually about four months, in which to bring in articles that had already been marked (and duty paid). During this period, these articles were struck with a special "census" mark. After this period, an...
by blakstone
Fri Jun 16, 2023 11:22 am
Forum: Other Countries
Topic: Can anyone help determine the country, manufacturer and years of work?
Replies: 10
Views: 1840

Re: Can anyone help determine the country, manufacturer and years of work?

Italian, with the marks used during the Napoleonic Kingdom of Naples, which covered the southern part of the Italian peninsula. Although the Kingdom existed from 1805 to 1815, the marks weren’t introduced until 1808 and continued use until 1823 (long after the French occupation); these latter dates ...
by blakstone
Thu Jun 15, 2023 12:22 pm
Forum: French Silver
Topic: 18th century ???
Replies: 9
Views: 2250

Re: 18th century ???

The marks are consistent with Paris marks, with the charge mark for small silver pieces used by fermier Julien Alaterre 1768-1774, during which time the jurande mark "G" was used July 1770 to July 1771. Unfortunately, the maker's mark is too worn to read; there also should be a decharge ma...
by blakstone
Wed Jun 14, 2023 11:20 am
Forum: General Questions
Topic: Tastevin estetic abrasion attempt?
Replies: 3
Views: 2541

Re: Tastevin estetic abrasion attempt?

The punched letters used to put the owner's name on tastevins (and other pieces in the early 19th century) were difficult to remove as they were too deep to polish out without excessively thinning the rim of the piece. I think this is simply the obliteration of a previous owner's name using decorati...
by blakstone
Mon Jun 12, 2023 12:06 pm
Forum: French Silver
Topic: Tea strainer
Replies: 3
Views: 1506

Re: Tea strainer

Lepicier veuve (widow) & Bouclier, rue de Montmorency 11, Paris, mark ("FB" with a blade of wheat and sickle) registered 11 Oct 1890 and cancelled 11 Feb 1892. The partnership was created on 8 Oct 1890 between Ernestine Victoire Marie Vivien (b. 1859), widow of Alphonse Marie Lepicier ...
by blakstone
Tue Jun 06, 2023 1:16 pm
Forum: German, French, Dutch, Russian, Scandinavian or Other - Single Image
Topic: Help identify Maker's
Replies: 11
Views: 2353

Re: Help identify Maker's

The date letter "H" would be 1862. Not really sure about the attribution to Sachwall; the Dresden mark here was used by many different makers (at least eight other than Sachwall that I've noted). The maker's mark looks like "FE" or "EE" to me, so I think either Friedric...
by blakstone
Fri May 19, 2023 1:57 pm
Forum: French Silver
Topic: Limoges Silver Enamel Makers Mark
Replies: 3
Views: 1352

Re: Limoges Silver Enamel Makers Mark

Very worn, but I think probably Pierre Francois Queille; see forum posts Some French Advertisements and Information: Queille and Silver Goblet Identity
by blakstone
Mon May 15, 2023 3:46 pm
Forum: Family Crests
Topic: Question on this very English coat of arms
Replies: 4
Views: 3185

Re: Question on this very English coat of arms

The dexter baron (i.e. husband’s) arms are those of Haywood: argent, three torteaux in bend between two bendlets gules, all within a bordure of the last (crest: on the stump of a tree, a falcon rising, proper), thus Haywood impaling Vernon. These are the arms of Francis Haywood (1794-1858) of Sillin...
by blakstone
Sun May 14, 2023 9:36 pm
Forum: Website Updates & Announcements
Topic: A sad passing...
Replies: 3
Views: 1985

Re: A sad passing...

That is truly sad news - he was perhaps the premier authority on silver conservation in the country. I can echo that my dealings with him were always pleasant and informative. Ave atque vale. I do hope someone will continue to manufacture his silver polish; it really is the best.
by blakstone
Fri May 12, 2023 12:05 pm
Forum: French Silver
Topic: who is he maker? Paris 1809-1819 tastevin,
Replies: 5
Views: 2020

Re: who is he maker? Paris 1809-1819 tastevin,

These forums provide a great resource for access to references otherwise out of our reach. Alas, there is no digital copy of Arminjon online and they - volumes I & II - are monstrously expensive when they turn up on the resale market. I learned a long time ago to buy important silver references ...
by blakstone
Fri May 12, 2023 11:43 am
Forum: German Silver
Topic: Perth Pepper Pot Maker
Replies: 10
Views: 4673

Re: Perth Pepper Pot Maker

Oh, dear. Don't let the Russian forum get wind of that - they will tear it to ribbons. It is definitely not Russian.
by blakstone
Thu May 11, 2023 2:30 pm
Forum: French Silver
Topic: French 1838 maker
Replies: 3
Views: 1600

Re: French 1838 maker

This appears to be a post-1973 Minerva mark with a decade letter in the lower right, under the chin; deciphering this letter would narrow the date to a ten-year range. Unfortunately, there is no reference I know of for maker’s marks this recent.
by blakstone
Thu May 11, 2023 2:28 pm
Forum: French Silver
Topic: who is he maker? Paris 1809-1819 tastevin,
Replies: 5
Views: 2020

Re: who is he maker? Paris 1809-1819 tastevin,

The maker is Louis Joseph Thomas [Arminjon I:02411] He was among the handful of makers who entered a mark on the pre-lozenge-form plate in the year V [1787], followed by this lonzenge-shaped mark in 1798. He was listed as largeworker at 31 rue St. Louis and later 28-29 cour Lemoigne. He is last list...
by blakstone
Thu May 11, 2023 1:09 pm
Forum: German Silver
Topic: Perth Pepper Pot Maker
Replies: 10
Views: 4673

Re: Perth Pepper Pot Maker

Perhaps my focus on Continental silver is deceiving me here, but I don’t think this is Scottish at all. I think it’s German, specifically from the Schleswig-Holstein Baltic coastal city of Luebeck. First, the crowned double eagle in a circle is identical to the mark used under stewardship of guild m...
by blakstone
Fri Apr 28, 2023 4:34 pm
Forum: French Silver
Topic: FBD, unknown silversmith
Replies: 7
Views: 2406

Re: FBD, unknown silversmith

Arminjon includes the boar head with the Head of a Greek Woman as discussed in this thread: Antique French Oil & Vinegar Set ; a more specific article on the boar's head may be found here: The Mysterious Boar's Head Mark . Despite being described as such in several references, there is no eviden...
by blakstone
Fri Apr 28, 2023 3:44 pm
Forum: French Silver
Topic: Can you please help me identify the workshop and years of work?
Replies: 2
Views: 1246

Re: Can you please help me identify the workshop and years of work?

The “M” in the Minerva mark indicates the assay office in Marseille, Bouche-du-Rhone; they began using this mark in 1865, so your piece must be after that. Although there is no reference which covers later 19th century Marseille makers, the Juge family of silversmiths are well-known. Jean Gregoire J...
by blakstone
Thu Apr 27, 2023 3:19 pm
Forum: French Silver
Topic: FBD, unknown silversmith
Replies: 7
Views: 2406

Re: FBD, unknown silversmith

As the mark is in a lozenge, it is post-Revolutionary; this form was mandated by the law of 19 Brumaire an VI [9 Nov 1797]. Francois Boutheroue-Desmarais Born: 7 Aug 1769, Paris, son of silversmith Noel Cesar Boutherue-Desmarais & Angelique Pfaffe Married: Marie Francoise Lefevre (ca 1775 – 1835...
by blakstone
Mon Apr 24, 2023 11:23 pm
Forum: French Silver
Topic: Paris 1787 tastevin, who is the maker?
Replies: 3
Views: 1325

Re: Paris 1787 tastevin, who is the maker?

The mark on the handle is the boar's head minimum fineness mark for silver in use from 1838. But the "ancien regime" marks are, to my eye, suspect; they lack important intricate details, and are in fact identical (other than the "maker's mark") to those illustrated on page 273 of...
by blakstone
Tue Apr 18, 2023 6:05 pm
Forum: French Silver
Topic: Maker request on round French box
Replies: 6
Views: 1802

Re: Maker request on round French box

Charles Edme Picard Born: 12 Mar 1831, Paris, son of Nicolas Edme Picard & Marie Pauline Desplat Married: 18 Jan 1855, Paris, to Louise Helen Petit (31 Dec 1836-5 Jan 1891) Died: 26 Jan 1909, Charenton-le-Pont, Seine (now Val-de-Marne) He is listed in the 1891 voter list and in the 1891 and 189...
by blakstone
Tue Apr 18, 2023 5:17 pm
Forum: London Hallmarks
Topic: Seal Top Spoon
Replies: 5
Views: 3514

Re: Seal Top Spoon

Piers Percival, in his article "Elizabethan London Specialist Spoonmakers", The Finial: Journal of the Silver Society of Great Britain , v. 14/06, Jul/Aug 2004, pp. 14-21, makes an argument that at this time - the second decade of the 17th century - this specific mark (with the cusped outl...

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