Colonial Ladle

[dognose]

Hi,

Any thoughts on this one?









A fiddle pattern ladle, 7" (18cm) in length, handmade, good weight for the size. Marks: C.G, Lion Passant, Bust (sideways), Lion Passant.

Any help appreciated.

Trev.

[MCB]

Hello Trev

It's not much but there is a reference to a Cape Colony silversmith by the name of C Garish who was active around 1830 at http://www.silvercollection.it. Unfortunately there are no more details.

Regards
Mike

[dognose]

Thanks Mike, that's the best lead so far, I'll try and investigate further.

Regards Trev.

[joho]

Hi Trev - I think the marks may possibly be for Christian Grothe , Montreal Quebec, Canada 1795 to 1868. Reference Langdon's Guide to Marks on Early Canadian Silver. The pic in the reference is not that clear, but certainly a close resemblance. John

[dognose]

Hi John,

I have 'Quebec and Related Silver' by Ross Allan C. Fox, but there is no mention of Christian Grothe in that publication, so many thanks for the answer.

Does Langdons give any further information about this silversmith?

Regards Trev.

[joho]

Hi Trev - Langdon's only have his marks and dates, no biography. I will try and post a scan of the marks in the morning. Regards John

[Granmaa]

Hi Trev,

For what it's worth, looking at the style of marks and the design of the ladle, I think it's North American.

Miles

[joho]

Hi Trev - here is a scan of the marks. Unfortunately the photo in the reference is not very good, but I think the 2nd and 4th marks are probably the lion passant, which would match those on your ladle. You need to scroll all the way down. Regards John

[dognose]

Hi Guys,

Many thanks for your help.



The mark illustrated in Langdon's certainly does bear similarities, but I would say the second and fourth marks were pseudo Duty marks, rather than Lion Passant marks with the third being a pseudo London mark perhaps. Having said that, there was no reason as to why Christian Grothe, if he was the maker of this ladle, should stick to any particular set of marks, it's not as if he had to register them anywhere and as it looks as if his working period was perhaps a long one, then there may have been several changes over the years. The same could aslo apply to the maker's mark, whilst the 'C' looks similar, the 'G' has the addition of a central crossbar that is lacking on my example, with mine also having a far larger central pellet, but there was really very little reason why a replacement punch should be an exact replica of an earlier one.

All in all, I would put Christian Grothe in pole position as things stand at the moment.

Regards Trev.

[joho]

Hi Trev
Yes, having another look I agree that the pseudo duty marks are more likely, and clearly there are some other differences.
Langdon shows some other marks for Grothe - basically variations on the one shown - so over the years that he was working, he did change his mark from time to time. Regards John