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Hi Peter, Thanks for your response. I'm still uncertain because the 1858/1924 mark you refer to has dots on either side of the crescent moon. Mine does not and is the reason I raised the question here in the first place. Instead there are dots inside the crescent. In fact the symbol looks more like ...

This bowl carries a maker's mark 'VK below a crescent' which I initially thought would be for van Kempen, but it doesn't exactly match any of the marks I've seen for him. The closest would be 'VK below a crescent with two dots', but those dots are missing and instead we have a couple of dots within ...

Brilliant! Thanks very much Peter. For once it's earlier than I thought, rather than later!

Silverk.

Hi, I have this miniature box in the form of a commode which I think was probably made towards the end of the 19th century in Hanau, with a fineness of 800. Would anyone be kind enough to confirm whether or not it is from Hanau and make a suggestion as to the maker? Please forgive the poor quality d...

Being marked with what I think is 'VK' I initially thought that this little Dutch bureau box was made by J. M. van Kempen (in 1831). However, the city mark seems to indicate that it was assayed in Gouda (uncrowned, hence 2nd quality) and I'm not aware that van Kempen's silver was assayed there. Woul...

Hi Trev,

Splendid! That was quick!

Thanks,

Silverk.

Here we have a rather nice Chinese Export, fairly large, articulated fish. Given there is a small enclosed space within the head only accessible through the mouth (i.e. the head is not hinged), I think this is a scent bottle with a dipping stick. My problem is that I haven't been able to trace the m...

This French spoon is extremely clearly marked and whilst I've had some success using Tardy and the 925-1000 encyclopedia, I still need help! For a start I'm not sure if this is a Besançon spoon or from nearby Dole, I have no idea who the maker is and the exact date is a little confusing to me. Was i...

Hi Oel, Thanks for persisting with this, however, the mark doesn't look like the one you have identified. Mine literally looks like comets in flight i.e three separate balls with tails, not interconnected in any way, the tails going in approximately the same direction - towards the top in my picture...

Hi Oel,

Thanks for that. Hopefully someone can enlighted me on the 'three-meteors' mark, if that is what the mark is supposed to represent.

Best regards,

Silverk.

Hi Steve,

Thanks so much for such a detailed response and so quickly! Even knowing her name I can't really find anything about her on the internet! Just proves the value of this forum and the generously provided knowledge of those providing the answers such as you.

Thanks again,

Silverk.

Hi, The marks on this caster seem to indicate that it was imported into Holland in 1845. Can anyone identify the three-lobed mark which appears to depict three meteors! Was this the mark of the maker or the importer? I've examined the piece closely and the marks in the picture are all on the inner l...

Hi, I have this nice Tasmanian arts and crafts style server very similar to that made by Sargison's, however the maker's mark is 'MM', rather than Sargison's, and so far MM eludes me, hence this message to the forum. Perhaps MM worked for Sargison's and then struck out on their own after Sargison's ...

Hi Amena,

Yes, I'm very aware of many British silverplate marks of this type, but I'm 100% confident that the spoon is silver, then gilded.

Silverk.

Hi, I have this rather nice gilded spoon in the European style, but the marks look somewhat American/Canadian to my untutored eye, hence I've popped it in this section. I am hoping that someone may be able to identify the marks for me - country of manufacture, maker, approx date (which I would guess...

Hi Peter, Thanks very much indeed for your very fast and informative reply. I rather thought they were 1801, but I was hoping they would be a little earlier given their 18th century design! I'm aware of those sites, of course, but I'm hoping that someone someday will come up with a Dutch equivalent ...

Here's a simple one for those with the right books. These dessert forks were made, I believe, by Willem van den Goorberg in Leiden near the end of the 18th century. I'm trying to get the correct date for them, but since I can't find a chart with pictures of 18th century Leiden marks I can't establis...

Hi silverfan,

I agree it's not relevant for the style, but it gives an idea of the date of manufacture which I personally think is of interest as well.

Regards,

silverk.

As suggested, I contacted Koch & Bergfeld. They kindly responded as follows: "the number 17500 tells us that the design of your teapot is from the year 1890. The teapot has been manufactured up to the 1930´s but unfortunately it is impossible to tell when this particular one has been made. ...

Hi Qrt.S, It measures 10cm in length. The bowl is 4.5cm long and 3cm wide at its widest point. Looking at the join between stem and bowl, the join is engraved with a zig-zag pattern and also some of the pattern from the bowl itself runs at near 90 degrees across the join. I am very comfortable, ther...