Silver & Silver-plated items
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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The measure of an idea that was off its head
11 September 2006By the mid 19th century it had been completely discredited as a science, but between the 1820s and 1840s phrenology was at the peak of its popularity. And Edinburgh, where the first phrenological society was founded in 1820, was one of its centres.
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Engraver adds to sale souvenirs
17 June 2006As if they will need it, some of the lots included in Christie’s June 13-14 sale of items from the collection of HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (1930-2002) have received a little posthumous pepping up.
Antiques sold for scrap as silver price rockets
15 May 2006ATG have learnt that the strong prices for precious metals on the commodities market has meant some dealers have started selling silver and gold antiques as scrap.
Silver rallies after 14% fall overnight
24 April 2006AS ATG went to press, the price of silver appeared to be steadying following the dramatic fall seen late last week.
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The bowl that proves it can pack a punch at £28,000
24 April 2006A Bedford woman who was downsizing homes decided to enter this piece of family silver into her local auction house. It proved to be the stellar entry in W&H Peacock’s April 7 antiques sale when, after generating considerable pre-sale attention from the London silver trade, it far outstripped the saleroom’s unpublished expectations of around £3000-5000, selling to one of their number for £28,000 (plus 12.5% premium).
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Saved for the nation
13 March 2006A magnificent Charles II silver fluted fruit sideboard dish saved from export in 2005 is now on display at the Royal College of Physicians. It will be displayed alongside their existing collection of memorabilia relating to Sir Francis Prujean, the President of the Royal College of Physicians (1650-1654) whose life-saving cures were recorded in Pepys’ diaries.
London authorities tell silver buyers to beware of forged spoons
07 February 2006The London Assay Office is advising extra caution when buying antique silver following the assessment of spoons bearing forged marks submitted by four auctioneers last year.
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When life is one long picnic
17 January 2006Ninety-one-year-old John Werner Kluge is the stuff of the American Dream – a German immigrant who amassed his fortune in the States buying radio and television stations.
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Proof that the silver market remains niche work
19 November 2005The niche market appears to be the driving force in silver sales today.
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The Gothic tale of a blind mule and the holy nail
19 July 2005Medieval French silver is not a plentiful commodity. Much of it did not escape the great post-Revolutionary meltdown, but one piece that got away was the late Gothic reliquary casket that featured in Sotheby’s works of art auction in London on June 8.
Auctioneers on alert as vendor tries to pass off fake silver
19 July 2005A SINGLE vendor has been trying to sell very convincing fake silver smallwork through auction rooms in central and southwest England.
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Rare bird fails to fly in Toronto
26 January 2005It would be amiss not to record the fortunes of the rare George II provincial silver tea kettle that, as reported in ATG no.1663, dated November 6 had been consigned for sale at Toronto fine art auctioneers Waddingtons (15% buyer’s premium) on December 6.
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Eremon chases glory again with £2600
23 December 2004Richard Winterton (15% buyer’s premium)Trained by Tom Coulthwaite, who schooled a number of high-class jumpers in the first decades of the 20th century, Irish-bred Eremon was one of the top chasers of his era. And 1907 was very much his year.
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The hallmarks of bravery…
24 November 2004IN September 1878, as it became clear that the Newbury Borough Fire Brigade was suffering from a lack of men and equipment, around 20 determined tradesmen decided to take matters into their own hands and to form a volunteer fire brigade. After some debate by the town’s Watch Committee, the auxiliary brigade won a majority approval.
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Rare English bird spotted in Toronto
03 November 2004A RARE bird from the English provinces has been spotted in Canada.
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Bonhams Knightsbridge
20 October 2004TWO or three times a year Bonhams (19.5/10% buyer's premium) offer a selection of modern pieces in their monthly Knightsbridge silver and objects of vertu sales. Undoubtedly a growth area of the market, works by major names such as Stuart Devlin, Gerald Benney and Christopher Lawrence routinely feature amongst the top ten lots.
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Estimates demolished as buyers identify two rarities: £5200 bid for 3oz cup marks current demand for Guild work
13 October 2004PROVINICIAL auctioneers may no longer be able to bank on a solid furniture take-up to keep business ticking over (the 162-lot furniture section at Bruton Knowles (15% buyer's premium) on September 16 fielded the lion’s share of casualties), but at least they can rely on unusual, commercial or quality entries still selling at a premium.
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£13,250 bid answers speculation about cow creamer
13 October 2004SOME provincial auctioneers batten down the hatches during August, but for Keys (10% buyer's premium) in Norfolk it was a particularly busy month with two antique sales, a collectors’ auction and a picture outing.
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Holiday feast enjoyed by all in Cherbourg saleroom
22 September 2004THE ebullient Samuel Boscher (16.74% buyer’s premium) was in typically sonorous form for his annual two-day summer jamboree in Cherbourg on August 8/9.
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Final lot proves to be star
22 September 2004RIGHT: offered as the final lot of the day, this 21oz Guild of Handicrafts silver and enamel comport proved to be one of the stars of Clarke Gammon Wellers’ sale on September 7.
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