www.925-1000.com

HI

I'd appreciate help with this piece. Maker seems to be JR, who might that be? it measures 23 cm across, weighs 334 grams & i think it was possibly a
bottom/part of something & was cut out.

Made by John Robinson II, assayed in London 1749.

I believe it is likely that the decoration was engraved around the 2nd half of the 19th century.

To my eyes it looks like it could be the center of a damaged salver that had a pie crust edge removed.

If it was indeed cutout, you could speculate that you may have found an abandoned attempt to take old marks from a damaged George II piece and incorporate them into a new article, giving it the appearance of being a much older (and more expensive) item.

Let's see if anyone else can fill in the details on what this is.

The website Silvermakersmarks.co.uk mentions that John Robinson II's mark has been spotted on salvers and trays, so it is likely that your piece was one or the other.

Regarding the transposing of marks (transferring of marks from one article to another), the Goldsmiths' Company Assay Office Website has a page on the Antique Plate Committee (APC) which is responsible for adjudicating spurious silver articles.

At the top of this webpage is a short video that provides background on the APC and at 1:50 into the clip it provides examples of spurious articles. The first example is a basket with transposed marks.

Goldsmith's Company - Antique Plate Committee - Video

When an item is sent into the APC for assessment, the committee will examine an article, and if it found to be spurious, it will cancel the marks and remark the item with "LAO" (London Assay Office) and the corresponding date, fineness, and location marks (see example below).

Many thanks.