1789 Swedish beaker by maker EL

[historydetective]

This 42 gram beaker stands 3.5 inches tall and is 2.75 inches in diameter across the top. It bears a Swedish date code for 1789 and a maker's mark of EL; I realize that maker mark is hard to see from the pic, but I assure you the last letter is an "L" I have 4 questions: 1. Who is the maker? 2. What city is signified by the leftmost mark in a rectangular cartouche? Please note that the symbol inside the rectangle is blurred in real life, too. 3. Is the band around the bottom typical of Swedish silver from this period? There seems to be no solder seam, so it's chased like that, but my first impression was that if it were soldered, the beaker might've been repurposed/repaired. 4. Are the marks configured and placed in a way that conforms with the norm for Swedish silver from the late 18th century? The marks are in the center of the underside of the beaker.

[Hose_dk]

In Sweden there are many EL of these I have found 2 that could match. The rest are later in time.
One candidate is in Gothenburg - then city mark is G - and it can be.
The other candidate is in Uppsala - then city mark is a circle with a cross on top. The symbol is a rigsæble.
My guess now would be Uppsala master - please confirm citymark.

The marks are ok set according to whats expected.

However the decoration is not. Had it been danish or german, I would accept decoration. But swedish I have never seen. This someone else can comment.

[historydetective]

1. Yes, Hose_dk, I think the Uppsala city mark is definitely what is on the cup; in fact, on page 381 of Tardy's, there is a very similar city mark in a rectangle for Uppsala in the early 19th century, so with this cup being late 18th century, I think it's certainly compatible with the form in that era suggested by the Uppsala city marks we can see. I wish I knew where to see a chart for the form of each and every year's Uppsala's city marks.

2. So with Uppsala being the city mark on the beaker, what is the name of the Uppsala "EL" maker mark silversmith whom you found?

3. Also, with regard to decoration, what is your take on the unusual decoration? Does the atypical ornamentation imply the cup is a fake, or is it possible it was made to suit the tastes of someone in Uppsala who owned or was inspired by similarly-chased German or Danish pieces?

4. Thank for your comment, Hose_dk!!! Because of the memory capacity constraints of using Photobucket on my laptop, I worked for hours getting the pics to comply with the 900 pixel specification of this site. Photobucket has glitches whereby carefully cropped photos revert to their previous size, even though the original size was overwritten with the cropped version - ughh!!! I would've been crushed if there had been no response this morning after all that frustration in posting, so thank you for making the work worthwhile.

[Qrt.S]

The decoration is hardly typical for Sweden. It is overdecorated being a Swedish work. Nonetheless, it is made in Sweden, but I would say that it might be redecorated later somewhere else in late 19th century but not in Sweden. However, I cannot not be absolutely sure of that. The maker is most likely Erik Lemon/Lemoine, he was born 18.12.1732 and died 23.5.1800 in Uppsala. He marked EL in a rectangular frame 1761-1800. He used also many other punches than this EL. He was taught by his father (Carl Lemon/Lemoine 1729-1768) and worked in his workshop.

Uppsala's town silver mark has always been a "circle" topped with a cross. It is actually symbolizing the king's regalia, an apple/globe topped with a cross and not a "circle". As from 1860 the town mark changes to a Gothic U in a rectangular shield.

I don't see any reason to suspect it being a fake but, as I assumed earlier, redecorated later......maybe!

[Hose_dk]

there are no reason to think fake in any way. The beaker is original - no problem.
But decoration I am also sure that it has been added later. Added by a skilled silver smith. Could be done in danish tradition.

[historydetective]

Qrt.S and Hose_dk, you guys are amazing. With the name you provided, I did some Googling, and I found the following very similar "BÄGARE, silver, Erik Lemon (Lemoine), Uppsala, 1793."

(admin edit - see Posting Requirements )

[Hose_dk]

and thats the way a swedish beaker looks.