www.925-1000.com

I would appreciate some assistance with the hallmarks on this silver teapot. I suspect it was made in Sheffield in 1876 based on the J, but the crown for Sheffield looks somewhat different that others I have seen when searching online. The lion also looks different than many others for sterling items. Also stumped as to the other two symbols. One is a clover and the other looks like a harp or lyre. There is also an engraving on the side of the teapot shown in the third image. Any ideas as to what it represents? Thanks for your help!

Hi,
Welcome to the forum.
Cannot recognize the marks but they are not British (Sheffield) marks.
Very interesting, though. Possibly colonial.Let`s wait for more opinions.
regards

Thanks. The teapot was bought in Great Britain if that is any help.

There is another possibility - silver plated.
Sorry, cannot recognize the marks.

Hi,

Welcome to the Forum.

The style of these marks are typical of British plater's marks, they are in a majority of cases, meaningless, and are just meant to imitate official British hallmarks.

However, in this case, there may be some clues to the maker. A shamrock and a harp contained in the marks likely suggests Irish origin. This coupled with the J·S initials points towards the possibility that these may be the marks of John Smyth of Dublin, a leading member of the trade in Ireland in the second half of the 19th century.

At this point, I'm only offering the name as a possibility and a route for further research.

The engraving on the side would be the family crest of a former owner of the teapot.

See: viewtopic.php?f=38&t=18350&p=41436&hilit=smyth#p41436

Trev.

Thanks for the info!