Silver & Silver-plated items

Barkentin and Krall chalice

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.


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Candelabra custom-built for the Vanderbilts

03 November 2025

A ‘monumental’ pair of 15-light silver candelabra made by Tiffany & Co for a member of the Vanderbilt family hammered for $230,000 (£171,565) at John Moran Auctioneers (27% buyer’s premium) in Monrovia, California.

Michael Baggott

Second auction slice of Michael Baggott silver brings white-glove result

27 October 2025

The second part of the Michael Baggott collection was a white-glove affair at Woolley & Wallis.

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Medals mark a great occasion

27 October 2025

Thomas Field Gibson (1803-89) was a man of many talents and interests.

Claret jug

Bear witness to a bullish market with silver novelty claret jug

20 October 2025

Victorian silver novelties do not come much better than this claret jug by top London maker Robert Hennell (1826-91).

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Hoffman silver bowl proves sought after in German sale

20 October 2025

Among the countless designs that Josef Hoffmann, the Viennese architect and multi-talented driving force behind the Wiener Werkstätte, executed during his long career was a bowl with two scroll handles, sometimes described as a centrepiece.

Scrap silver and gold

Dealers fear overheating as gold and silver prices climb higher

17 October 2025

A rally in global demand for gold and silver has led to UK precious metals dealers stopping quoting rates and the suspension of trade in some areas.

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Oyster tureen became a family favourite

13 October 2025

A remarkable silver oyster tureen with cover and stand hammered for $26,000 (£19,150) at Leland Little (20% buyer’s premium) in Hillsborough, North Carolina.

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Moving and macabre mementoes that mattered for Jacobites

29 September 2025

A rare snuff box commemorating the escape of Charles II from Parliamentary forces after the Battle of Worcester was the highlight of Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood’s (26% buyer’s premium) silver and jewellery sale in Exeter.

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Goblet sums up the busy Sigismund

29 September 2025

Sigismund III Vasa (1566-1632) was a man of many parts. His father was King John III of Sweden; his mother Catherine was the daughter of King Sigismund I of Poland.

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Kangxi bowl once bought for £95, now £65,000 at Wimbledon Auctions

29 September 2025

Invoice reveals the original deal for a Kangxi bowl that emerged from a London private collection

Silver sculpture

Appeal for help to recover silver stolen from Sloane Street Auctions

18 September 2025

Auction house seeks information following the theft of a silver sculpture

George III rococo silver coffee pot

Pick of the Pix comes to auction to benefit Ashmolean Museum

15 September 2025

Part of an extensive collection of British and continental silver and glass, recently bequeathed to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford by a couple who lived in the Loire Valley, will be sold at auction in France.

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Brooches are ‘too often underestimated’ says Wartski specialist

15 September 2025

Wartski’s Katherine Purcell stages a museum-quality loan exhibition devoted to the history and the magnificence of a classic jewellery form

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Silver with scandalous ladies and ducal provenances

15 September 2025

Silver flatware once owned by the so-called Ladies of Llangollen was offered in Cheffins’ (25% buyer’s premium) latest Jewellery, Silver & Watches auction in Cambridge.

The Schroder family collection

Spectacular Schroder collection goes on display in Bath

08 September 2025

A new gallery opens this month at the Holburne Museum in Bath to display “world-class Renaissance treasures” on long-term loan from the Schroder family collection.

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Rebels who became royal favourites: stand-out lots among property from the Earls of Airlie

08 September 2025

Jacobite highlights from the Scottish Collected sale held by Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh

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Scottish silver and Wemyss pottery put under the spotlight

08 September 2025

The markets for Scottish provincial silver and Wemyss pottery both offer great opportunities for new collectors ready to take the plunge.

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Tiffany Japonesque test: four mixed metal lots on offer

08 September 2025

The market for Tiffany’s Japonesque style demonstrated its strength at Heritage Auctions (25% buyer’s premium).

George III Masonic deacon’s jewel

Rare Freemasonry relic brings demand as collar jewel fetches over 50 times estimate

03 September 2025

Following disagreements over ritual and governance, two rival Freemasonry grand lodges – the Antients and Moderns – had emerged in the 1750s.

Silver snuffbox

Snuffbox relating to famed shipwreck rescue emerges at Gloucestershire auction

01 September 2025

A silver snuffbox presented as a token of gratitude to a ship captain involved in the rescue of passengers from one of the most significant maritime disasters of the 19th century is on offer at The Cotswold Auction Company in Cirencester.

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