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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Artisan stories: Four cases of contemporary art and craft supported by the antiques trade

24 September 2019

Auction houses Bonhams and Sworders, dealer association BADA, and the Goldsmith Company have all supported craftspeople and artists in new initiatives this autumn.

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The Bauhaus influence on show at Heidelberg sale

23 September 2019

Even though the Bauhaus design school was forcibly closed in 1933, its influence continues to this day.

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Top Marks for the start of LAPADA Art & Antiques Fair with early sales

16 September 2019

A set of 12 silver plates by Gilbert Marks, offered by The Peartree Collection, were among the stand-out sales from the opening hours of the LAPADA Art & Antiques Fair.

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Galloway features punch bowl at Duncombe Park Fair

09 September 2019

A large Georgian silver punch bowl made in 1824 (below) is available to buy from Highland Antiques of Aberdeen for £2450 at the next Galloway fair.

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International relationship as German dealer stages show in Paris

02 September 2019

Galerie Neuse, the German dealership based in Bremen, will be in Paris during the second half of September setting up at the Paris Galerie Aveline where it is presenting an exhibition titled 'L’Apothéose du Génie' from September 11-28.

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Frog salt cellars leap to great result Down Under

02 September 2019

Many of the high prices achieved at last week’s ‘celebrity’ sale titled Bob Hawke & Blanche d’Alpuget: Mementos, Curiosities, Art and Design reflected the impact of souvenir hunters, anxious to own a reminder of Australia’s former prime minister who died earlier this year. But not all of them.

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How ‘duty dodgers’ can pay their way at auction today

26 August 2019

The term ‘duty dodgers’ is applied to pieces that were not sent for assay during the period 1720-58 when a steep tax was placed on silver. Silversmiths had a variety of methods of escaping this tax – including transposing marks from small articles to large or overstriking marks from older pieces.

Silver auction previews: including a George V bowl modelled on the Winchester measure

26 August 2019

A selection of silver lots coming up in the salerooms.

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Tennants appoints new silver specialist

26 August 2019

Jeffrey Lassaline has joined Tennants as silver and objects of vertu specialist.

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Power of Scotland – spotlight on British silver produced north of the border

26 August 2019

Of the 24 silversmiths known to have worked in the Aberdeenshire town of Banff from the 17th century until the trade died out in the mid-1800s, William Scott the Elder is the first whose name is recorded.

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Silver hammer highlights: including a table snuff box with an Indian Mutiny connection

26 August 2019

A selection of stand-out auction results for silver in recent sales.

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The brief history of Australian hallmarking

26 August 2019

It was decades after the First Fleet landed in Sydney cove in 1788 before anything like a recognisable silver trade developed in Australia, writes Jolyon Warwick James.

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The web shop window: English silver-plated student lamps

19 August 2019

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

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5 Questions: Michael Wilson of Highland Antiques

19 August 2019

Michael Wilson of Highland Antiques in Aberdeen specialises in rare and collectable antique silver.

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Dealer offers cup awarded to Peterloo magistrate who beat demonstrators with stick

12 August 2019

Wick Antiques has on offer a monumental silver-gilt cup and cover presented to Ralph Fletcher (1757-1832), who is remembered for his actions during the ‘Peterloo Massacre’.

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Previews: £501 - £2000

12 August 2019

Our weekly selection from salerooms.

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Venetian travel poster, diamond clutch bag and a puffin painting – four auction highlights that caught bidders’ eyes in the last week

09 August 2019

ATG’s selection of hammer highlights over the past week includes a Venetian travel poster of a gondolier, a diamond evening clutch bag and a painting of a lady with a puffin.

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Thai silver tea kettle bid to triple estimate at Leicestershire auction

05 August 2019

An exceptional example of Thai silversmithing has sold for £13,500 (plus 17.5% buyer’s premium) in Leicestershire.

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Metalware provides a wide price range for buyers to ponder

05 August 2019

Metalware in all its forms played a major part in the development of the Bauhaus and recent sales contained examples in every price range.

Scrap gold rises close to all-time high in UK

01 August 2019

Helped by the weakening pound, the price of gold in the UK has hit a seven-year high.

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