www.925-1000.com

I was wondering if anyone can help decipher the worn date stamp. I believe they are made by Walter Tweedie. The London stamp puts it before 1822 but I am stuck after that. Thanks!

Hi and welcome to the forum.

The date mark could be the gothic "H" of 1763 but it might be clearer if you gave it a polish. Your WT mark is not Walter Tweedie; it is assigned by Grimwade to "? William Tuite". The doubt is because the mark was most likely recorded in the 1758-1773 Largeworkers' Register which has unfortunately been lost.

I see no evidence in your pictures that the candlestick is weighted.

Phil

Thanks Phil!

Unfortunately, someone before me removed the bases and the material inside. I got them at a charity thrift store as is. I do plan to polish them and maybe make some new covers for the bottoms with some mdf and green felt so they can be displayed.

Hi,
There was a weak point (my red dot). It was repaired with wooden splint and resin: colophony.
No intention to have it weighted.
Regards

Not here to argue with anyone but they were made to be weighted. The resin is still in some of crevices in the base and they both have iron rods up through them, not wood.

So, it`s iron, not wood; rust colour misled me. Still not convinced it was meant to be fixed like this when it left the workshop.

Hi,

Welcome to the Forum.

You are both right. Indeed, as AG2012 states, it would not have left the workshop like that. The addition of any other metal after hallmarking was highly illegal and would result in a heavy punishment for the silversmith.

However, we often forget the fear of fire that our ancestors held, if your property caught fire there was little to be expected in way of help and the result would often be that of total loss. Thus the weighting of candlesticks was a common occurrence, and indeed it was likely that the manufacture was even designed to facilitate this addition.

Trev.