Help needed identifying this 17th century patchbox maker

[SilverK]

I've come across this small 17th century patchbox with a Tudor rose on it, maker 'FS'. This silversmith doesn't appear to be in the normal reference books/sites I use. So looking a little wider afield, I found a potential maker, Francis Servant I (or possibly (II), listed in Timothy Kent's 'West Country Silver Spoons and Their makers 1550-1750' at page 131. Francis Servant I, a Huguenot, worked in Bideford around the end of the 17th century and the start of the 18th. However, that mark isn't quite the same. Its 'FS' is contained within a serrated stamp, like mine, but the initials and the serrations are all slightly different. So I'm not convinced yet that this is the correct maker, unless he had a different stamp. Can anyone help identify the maker? I haven't attached a picture from the book because I don't want to infringe any copyrights. Apologies for my own picture - the mark really is very small and is difficult to photograph being inside the box.

I think my box was made some time before the end of the 17th century. If FS arrived immediately after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 and then made my box, then he still remains a potential candidate.

Any views are most welcome, thanks.

[agphile]

The mark illustrated by Kent seems to be on the stem of a trefid type spoon and is not a particularly small mark. From what you say and judging by your photos, the mark in your box would seem to be noticeably smaller. However, this doesn't have to indicate different makers. A silversmith might have different sizes of mark punch for different sizes of item and the shapes might not be exact matches. My inclination when faced with this sort of uncertainty is simply to record the attribution as probable or possible and accept that we may never know for certain. After all, most attributions (where there are not supporting assay office records) are based on a balance of probabilities.

[SilverK]

Thanks very much for your response Agphile. Yes, they are different sizes and, as you say, the slightly different mark wouldn't preclude them being from the same silversmith. It didn't take me long to find the mark (exhausted my meagre sources), so maybe someone with more knowledge than me or a better reference library can pinpoint the maker or confirm it is indeed a Francis Servant I mark.