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Hello,

I have some spoons, 14 cm long, made circa about 1800.
The makers mark is "FPK", the other two marks are very small (circa 1,5 mm in diameter). The crowned “O” looks like the Duch duty free mark used only in 1807 on older silver. The last mark is probably the Duch import mark.

If the spoons were made in (northern) Germany, the maker could be Franz Peter Krumstroh II (1773-1833) from Glückstadt in Schleswig-Holstein near Hamburg (Stierling p. 158).
Indeed his mark looks not identical but quite similar and the kind of decoration was common about 1800 in this region.

Now my questions:

Until now the crowned "O" I only know with more then 3 tines, even on small items ( viewtopic.php?t=16665 ). Is this really the Duch duty free mark from 1807?

Is the other small mark really the Duch import mark and when this mark was used?

And at last, what was the purpose for these kind of spoons?
I ask this question elsewhere before ( viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17789 ) and know, that there are different opinions about it.
Hitherto I thought about citrus spoons. But the fact, that this kind of spoon seems to be common in the north sea region let me think about now in a context with drinking tea (probably used to pour milk or cream in the tea?). Indeet the left side of the bowl is a little worn-out at the top. This is normal on tea spoons but not to expect on citrus spoons. Probably I am wrong, but interestingly all silver spoons of this type I know, were made very early in the 19th century.

I would be glad, if someone can help me.

Kind regards,
Ringo

Hi Ringo,

First mark is the small import and duty mark Paris & Departments: &=ET=etranger=buitenlands=foreign.
In the areas which were annexed from 1809 till 1814 by the French empire, this mark was also used as tax free census mark, without any guarantee on the standard of fineness. This mark occur rather frequently on objects bearing the older marks of the Netherlands goldsmiths’ companies plus the duty marks of the Kingdom of Holland, and the 1807-1811 Kingdom of Holland proper hallnarks.
Second mark FPK in a rectangular frame, perhaps a maker’s mark, but I can not find back in my books.
The third image could be a ‘backward’ image of the Crowned O a duty mark.
However a valid standard mark Dutch, or other is lacking.

Regards,

Oel

Hello Oel,
I thank you very much for your help. You are right, thanks for your advice. Now I found the same "&" mark for Paris and Departments in TARDY p. 192 for silverware of foreign origin.
I thought it was a Duch import mark, because in TARDY p. 320 is a similar mark, used in the Netherlands during the time of the French annexion.

I am very interested, if there is a regional (and chronological) concentration of this type of spoons because I not often saw this type.

At last I ave another example of this kind of spoon. The foto is not good (I have bought this spoons half a year ago but they never arrived at me. So I only have this foto) .

Kind regards,
Ringo

Hello,
The maker is Franz Peter Rodewyck (1772-1846, Master since 1801) from the city Emden in East Frisia in Lower Saxony.
( Horst Arians, Riechdosen und Kleinsilber in Ostfriesland, p. 258)

regards, Ringo