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On a recent edition of a TV antiques programme one of the "experrts" said that you could tell the difference between silver and silver plated pieces because silver was warmer to the touch than silver plate. I have been handling silver for over 40 years and have never heard of this before, ...

Hello Trev. That sounds plausible. In the absence of any other ideas I will go with that. If it wasn't for the other marks James Leslie was very much in the running. I will put it int my oddities and anomalies file.

Thank,

Paul.

I am pretty certain that this caddy spoon started life as a teaspoon., but I am puzzled by the marks. There appear to be what look like a series of Indian tally marks after the maker’s mark of “J L”, but I cannot find any Indian colonial maker wiih those initials. Am I barking up the wrong tree? Pau...

The China Navigation Company crest, with the Swire group and Swire family motto, Esse Quam Videri – it has been in use by the Swire family since the 18th century. Literally translated, it means “to be, and not to seem to be”. Walker & Hall were major suppliers to shipping companies and other com...

Can anyone help identify the maker of this Maltese dessert spoon please? His mark appears to be a rampant rabbit, but maybe I am just not seeing it correctly. Paul. https://i.postimg.cc/S2w1gjdR/IMG-8396.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/0KDWFxXf/IMG-8393.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/kVgH40DJ/IMG-8395.jpg

Thanks Trev. I should have known that you have records of Portugese silver plate manufacturers! It is silver plated I assume?

Paul.

This rather grand compote belongs to a friend, so I have not actually seen it in the flesh yet, but I have been asked if I can identify the marks. Until I can see it for real I am assuming, from the colour that it is plated. It looks American to me, but I cannot find it in any of my American referen...

I tried it and it is absolutely useless. I hope that the one I have is a prototype because I cannot believe that they would put such a useless article into full production.

Hello Trev, Thanks for plumbing the depths of your library. I would not have thought of a masher. The bend in the bowl is just not deep enough to get any real mashing action going. Also it is of such a size that it would be difficult to tackle anything bigger than a pea! I suppose a good soft potato...

I have just acquired this rather strange for. It is silver plated, by Henry Fielding of Birmingham. It is table fork size The head has short sharp tines and is quite deeply dished. It also has an odd oval hole before the wings on the shaft. The close up picture shows evidence of knife cut marks. I c...

Thanks for your reply Scorpio. I found a mark such as this in a Bonham’s sale attributed to George Moore, but the one illustrated by the museum in Limerick does not have the cut corners as you pointed out. I will send them pictures of this piece as you suggested and await their opinion. In the meant...

This is a Hanoverian type teaspoon, which I think might be by George Moore of Limerick. He had two marks, one with a wavy edged rectangle and one like this with GM separated by a pellet within a plain rectangle. Can anyone confirm this or suggest an alternative. I don't have full access to my refere...

I might be wrong here, but isn't that cyrillic?

TW is most likely to be Thomas Wilmore.

Paul.

That is an Indian colonial piece. In Wynard T. Wilkinson’s book “Indian Colonial Silver” the maker is listed as untraced.

Paul.

Hello Trev,

That was on the "possibilities" list.

Paul.

This is an odd little spoon, the use of which is a bit of a puzzle. Made by Louisa Courtauld and George Cowles about 1760. At around 12cm it is the size of a teaspoon, but it has a strangely deep rectangular bowl. The bowl is turned over at the end, as a dessert spoon would be by continued scraping ...

Just to add a little bit... It is actually a crumb scoop rather than a cake server.
Paul.

Hello Trev. Has that base with the marks been inset or am I just seeing solder marks from the application of the rim?

Paul.

Hello Trev. I hope you are keeping well. We were going with the replacement idea. Most of the James Erskine spoon that I have seem were fiddle pattern, butI know what you mean about remoteness and 18th century fashion in Aberdeen,. I am sure that they will catch up eventually.
Paul.