Need help to I.D. this old spoon
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villelumiere75
Need help to I.D. this old spoon
Can anyone guide me as to origin and age of this spoon? Thank you
I se a crowned S - might be french?
then I see a head upside down. Looks like the french Mercury - but that is for gold, so it must be something else. Same mark exists in different variations for older silver.
Then 3. mark I can only see the 2 letter what does this mark show - and on top of that picture I see something that does not correspont with the other pictures.
How many marks at the spoon 4 ?
then I see a head upside down. Looks like the french Mercury - but that is for gold, so it must be something else. Same mark exists in different variations for older silver.
Then 3. mark I can only see the 2 letter what does this mark show - and on top of that picture I see something that does not correspont with the other pictures.
How many marks at the spoon 4 ?
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2209patrick
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Top to bottom, the marks are:
1) a helmeted head (inverted in the photo): the Paris décharge (discharge) mark of tax farmer Henri Clavel for small silver or gold articles in use 13 Jul 1780-31 Aug 1782.
2) "A", crowned: the Paris charge mark of tax farmer Henri Clavel for large silver articles in use 13 Jul 1780-31 Aug 1782.
3) "S", crowned:the Paris jurande (guild warden's) mark in use 1 Aug 1781 - 13 Jul 1782.
4) (if it is the mark posted by 2209patrick) the mark of maker Pierre-Philippe Rousseau, Master 1776
These marks are described in the reverse order than which they were struck. In pre-revolutionary Paris, a maker was required to roughly fashion the piece and strike his mark (4). Then he would take it to the guild where it would be tested by the wardens and, if it met the standard, struck with their mark (3). Next, he took it to the tax farmer where it was weighed, the duty recorded, and the piece struck with the charge mark (2). After that the silversmith was free to finish the piece (which is why these marks are often obscured or "stretched" on the narrow stems of flatware, having been altered by subsequent work) but he had to return it to the tax farmer when finished. The farmer would weigh it, settle any difference in the duty if the weight had changed, and, finally, strike it with the discharge mark (1). Then - and only then - the maker was free to sell the piece or deliver it to his patron.
1) a helmeted head (inverted in the photo): the Paris décharge (discharge) mark of tax farmer Henri Clavel for small silver or gold articles in use 13 Jul 1780-31 Aug 1782.
2) "A", crowned: the Paris charge mark of tax farmer Henri Clavel for large silver articles in use 13 Jul 1780-31 Aug 1782.
3) "S", crowned:the Paris jurande (guild warden's) mark in use 1 Aug 1781 - 13 Jul 1782.
4) (if it is the mark posted by 2209patrick) the mark of maker Pierre-Philippe Rousseau, Master 1776
These marks are described in the reverse order than which they were struck. In pre-revolutionary Paris, a maker was required to roughly fashion the piece and strike his mark (4). Then he would take it to the guild where it would be tested by the wardens and, if it met the standard, struck with their mark (3). Next, he took it to the tax farmer where it was weighed, the duty recorded, and the piece struck with the charge mark (2). After that the silversmith was free to finish the piece (which is why these marks are often obscured or "stretched" on the narrow stems of flatware, having been altered by subsequent work) but he had to return it to the tax farmer when finished. The farmer would weigh it, settle any difference in the duty if the weight had changed, and, finally, strike it with the discharge mark (1). Then - and only then - the maker was free to sell the piece or deliver it to his patron.
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