Silver & Silver-plated items

Barkentin and Krall chalice - £27,500 at JS Auctions.

When it comes to antique silverware, the size and weight of objects does not always determine value. Grand works by the likes of London-based Huguenot Paul de Lamerie or the Germain family in Paris have acquired huge status and value, while small objects such as nutmeg graters, early spoons or vesta cases can command high sums as they have a strong specialist collecting base.

The system of silver hallmarks serves as a quality control, giving an official stamp from showing the metal is of requisite purity, but the marks (or punches) also reveal the year, the place of origin and the identity of the maker, providing pieces of silverware with their own stamped passport of information.

Silver standard sets pulses racing at Dublin auction

12 June 2017

Dublin dealer sells an Irish selection as he hands the reins of the shop over to his son.

Clock to celebrate Garrard's Royal approval sells at £1700

12 June 2017

Established in London in 1735, jeweller Garrard has had a long association with the British Royal family.

Nothing like a dame for provenance - ballerina after Barre sells in Gloucestershire

12 June 2017

The appeal of this 16in (40.5cm) tall French silvered bronze of a ballerina offered at Wotton Auction Rooms (21% buyer’s premium) on May 23, undoubtedly owed much of its success to its provenance.

Victorian silver snuffbox with Montefiore crest takes £40,000 at Blythe Road auction

05 June 2017

A Victorian silver snuff box engraved with a view of East Cliff Lodge in Ramsgate sold for a mighty £40,000 (plus 22% buyer‘s premium) at Matthew Barton‘s sale held at 25 Blythe Road, London, on May 24.

Shopping for jewellery and silver

30 May 2017

Jewellery and silver items on offer in London this summer from auction houses and dealers.

Auction trio reflects an overall buoyancy to the antiques market

22 May 2017

Three substantial sales from Edinburgh to Exeter via Doncaster last month confirmed the promise of early spring with the staple areas of furniture, silver and ceramics holding up and, for named or specialist-interest material, doing well. The figures underline the overall buoyancy.

Then & now: the Ashley-Russell fakes saga

22 May 2017

News as reported from the ATG Archive...

Storr inkstand makes its mark

22 May 2017

Made by Paul Storr, highly decorative and from the family collection of the late Sir Nicholas Harington, this 1836 piece of silver had the name, the look and the provenance to overcome the somewhat unfashionable nature of inkstands.

Public consultation to go ahead into British hallmarking overseas

15 May 2017

A public consultation into the use of British hallmarks for stamping items made overseas will be held after the general election in June, the British Hallmarking Council (BHC) has confirmed to ATG.

Pick of the Week: silver centrepiece races to Rijksmuseum

08 May 2017

This 176oz Victorian presentation silver centrepiece offered for sale at Woolley & Wallis of Salisbury on April 25 has a strong Dutch connection.

Silver choc pot is sweet success in Derbyshire sale

02 May 2017

Silver was among the success stories of the wide-ranging March 30-April 1 sale at Hansons, in particular a 1705 Britannia standard chocolate pot.

Massive Duke of York centrepiece leads Christie’s Robert de Balkany auction with sale to Koopman

28 March 2017

A large, striking George IV silver-gilt centrepiece led Christie’s sale of the Robert de Balkany collection after it was hammered down to London silver dealer Koopman Rare Art.

Bonhams brings best under one roof

18 March 2017

Bonhams will conduct the first of a new format flagship sale next month.

Silver linings: hammer highlights

18 March 2017

Two silver hammer highlights which sold for well above estimate

Silver linings: previews from the upcoming season

18 March 2017

From small-scale miniatures to intricate, elaborate pieces, we preview silver highlights from upcoming auctions and fairs both in London and the regions

Empress of Russia's Fabergé gift to her Yorkshire godchildren comes to auction

09 February 2017

The tragic story of the last of the imperial Russian family does not have an immediately obvious connection with a Yorkshire spa town but it is nonetheless a strong one.

Vesta match cases fire up auction interest at Lawrences in Somerset

14 December 2016

Most collectors have a burning passion. For John and Patricia McKenzie, the items that fired their interest were vesta cases, the small portable boxes made to contain matches and keep them dry.

Rare Irish silver porringer sold for five times estimate at Sworders’ auction

30 November 2016

A rare and recently rediscovered Irish Commonwealth/Charles II silver porringer sold today for £25,000 – five times its estimate – at Sworders’ auction in Essex.