Error in my analysis or in Beuque's and Tardy's books ?

[dinio]

Hello,
I have this spoon which is puzzling me:


I do not know the name of the pattern but it is obviously 17C or 18C. Here is the back:


and here is the front:


It is hallmarked with 4 marks:


According to my books (Tardy's 22nd french edition, Beuque's 'Poinçons de maitres' and Beuque's 'Poinçons officiels II'), I can identify 3 of the 4 marks but they appear temporarily inconsistent to me!

First mark corresponds clearly to Beuque #4682 and Tardy p144, first row, third mark. According to Beuque's it has been used between 1674 and 1789 (during 115 years) by the Besancon assay office for silver and gold objects. Here is this mark:


Second mark is also clearly recognized as Beuque #5379 and in Tardy p144, third row, fifth mark. But there is a discrepancy between Beuque who says that it is a guarantee mark for Dôle (Besançon jurisdiction), whereas Tardy says that it is a date mark for Besancon itself. Both says that it was used in 1778. Here is the mark:


Identification of the third mark which is the maker mark is more difficult. The mark is rather rubbed but a lot of elements are still decipherable. There is a fleur-de-lys, an eagle and three letters, and the outline of the mark is made of straight lines, with angulous connections. For the letter, the first one seems to be a I, the second one can be B, E, F, P or R, and the last one is an M. Here is this mark:



Taking the discrepancy between Beuque and Tardy about the second mark into account, we have to look to Besancon or to Dole makers. Obviously this is not a mark from a Dole maker, as their marks used to contain a lion issant over a sun, which is not the case here. Moreover Besancon maker marks used to contain a fleur-de-lys above an eagle, which corresponds to this mark. Therefore I conclude that Beuque is wrong when it says that the second mark is a guarantee one for Dole, and that Tardy is probably right by saying that it is a date mark for Besancon.
Looking in Beuque's 'Poinçons de maitres' there are only two possibilities which correspond to the possible letters: hallmarks #921 and #922. Here are these marks:


When we look carefully to the outline of the mark, and to the position of the eagle wings, the closest marks seems to be Beuque #922, which corresponds to Jean-Francois Maublanc who worked between 1670 and 1687 at least. But this is not compliant with the second mark which is specified as a date mark for 1778 !

Therefore we have two options:
- the maker mark does not correspond to JF Maublanc. Thus who was the maker? Can it be another version of the mark #921 (if Jean-François Male was still alive and active in 1778) or is it the mark of another Besancon maker around 1778 ?
- the maker mark corresponds to JF Maublanc. In this case Tardy and Beuque are wrong about the date of the second mark. This is a serious possibility, because the style of this date mark does not fit at all the style of the other letters in this series (please take a look at the third row, p144 of the Tardy, and see how far the R date mark is from the other marks)

Obviously the style of the spoon might help us to decide the period, but I am not a specialist of this topic, and I would appreciate help in this domain.

I also have no information for the fourth mark: could this B letter have something to do with the first letter of Besancon ? Strangely enough it is closely connected to the set of the 3 other marks, which would not be the case if it was engraved after the production by the owner.

Any comment, correction, suggestion or addition of complementary documentation from the forum members is highly welcome.

Thanks in advance,
Dinio

[blakstone]

According to Brault-Lerch’s “Orfèvres de Franche-Comté” (Geneva: Librairie Droz, 1976), which has an exhaustive survey of Besançon marks, Beuque and Tardy are both in error.

Your first mark, the double “C’s”, corresponds to Brault-Lerch #21, the Besançon mint-mark in use ca. 1745 to 1777. (It is to be noted that after 1777, the double “C’s” were surmounted by a fleur-de-lys, not a crown as here; the post-1777 mark, Brault-Lerch #22, is not illustrated in Tardy.)

The second mark, the “R” and fleur-de-lys, corresponds to Brault-Lerch #83, the Besançon Jurande date letter for 1742/43, in use 1 Dec 1742 to 1 Dec 1743 by wardens François Verny and (surprise!) Jean-François Mâle. Besançon had six cycles of date letters, usually changing annually in early December. “R” was used in 1638/39, 1662/63, 1686/87, 1719/20, 1742/43 and 1778/79, but your mark is clearly that of 1742/43. According to Brault-Lerch, a cursive “R” was used in 1778/79 (Brault-Lerch #108) and it looks nothing like the mark in Tardy, which does, however, greatly resemble Brault-Lerch #83, the mark for 1742/43. In other words, Tardy mis-identifies the “R” for 1742/43 as the later one for 1778/79, and doesn't show the true 1778/79 mark at all.

Finally, the third mark “IFM” with fleur-de-lys and eagle, corresponds to Brault-Lerch #153, the maker’s mark of Jean-François Mâle. This mark is identical to Beuque #922; in other words, Beuque incorrectly attributes #922 to Jean-François Maublanc when it is actually that of Jean-François Mâle. (Brault-Lerch has no mark at all that corresponds to Beuque #921.)

Thus, according to the more authoritative Brault-Lerch, your spoon is Besançon, 1742/43, by Jean-François Mâle (working 1737-1769). I see no inconsistency in style that would confound that attribution; certainly the oval bowl, long drop and chamfered stem ending at the “fiddle” part are all entirely in keeping with mid-18th century French provincial silver.

Very nice spoon! Thanks for sharing it!

[dinio]

Thank you so much Blackstone!

Your explanations solves this puzzle that I was facing. It demonstrates also that a deep documentation is needed for the serious silver collector, and that the common books like Tardy and Beuque may contain errors.

I do agree with the identification you give, but I still have a couple of questions:
- is Brault-Lerch #21 illustrated in Tardy or in Beuque? Could you give the correspondence in these books?
- Brault-Lerch says that this Besançon mint-mark was in use ca. 1745 to 1777 while the jurande date "R" letter corresponds to 1742/43. Is is consistent ? Could the Brault-Lerch's book be refined on the start date of this mint-mark?
- After posting, I looked more carefully to Beuque #921 and #922 and I noticed that the fleur-de-lys location relative to the letters I and F is different: the fleur-de-lys is located higher in #921 than in #922. Considering only this characteristics, the mark on the spoon is thus closer to Beuque #921, but you have no equivalent mark in Brault-Lerch! So the question is: does the Brault-Lerch #153 mark ressemble Beuque #921 or #922 for what concerns the fleur-de-lys location?
- I also tried to look at the eagle in more details. And it appeared to me that it could have paws. Again, considering only this characteristics, the mark on the spoon could be closer to Beuque #921. What about paws in Brault-Lerch #153 ?

In other words could we face an undocumented version of Jean-François Mâle mark?

Thanks again for your help.
Dinio

[blakstone]

Is Brault-Lerch #21 illustrated in Tardy or in Beuque? Could you give the correspondence in these books?

Not really, no. The last mark on the top row of Tardy, p. 144, identified as “1730”, is close, but it’s also close to Brault-Lerch #20, the mint mark in use ca. 1737- ca. 1740, and not an exact match of either.

Brault-Lerch says that this Besançon mint-mark was in use ca. 1745 to 1777 while the jurande date "R" letter corresponds to 1742/43. Is is consistent ? Could the Brault-Lerch's book be refined on the start date of this mint-mark?

Brault-Lerch is very loose in the dating here, #20 ending ca. 1740 and #21 beginning ca. 1745 - the exact French text reads “v. 1737 — 1740 . . .” (note the ellipses) and “v. 1745 — 1777” — thus indicating only that the mark changed sometime between 1740 and 1745. Since your piece falls right between those dates, I don’t think it presents any inconsistency, particularly as the two marks are so very similar.

After posting, I looked more carefully to Beuque #921 and #922 and I noticed that the fleur-de-lys location relative to the letters I and F is different: the fleur-de-lys is located higher in #921 than in #922. Considering only this characteristics, the mark on the spoon is thus closer to Beuque #921, but you have no equivalent mark in Brault-Lerch! So the question is: does the Brault-Lerch #153 mark ressemble Beuque #921 or #922 for what concerns the fleur-de-lys location?

Neither Beuque #921 nor #922 match the mark on your piece as closely as Brault-Lerch #153 does; which has the fleur-de-lys up higher exactly as on your mark, with the outward scrolls of the fleur-de-lys even with the tops of the “IF”.

I also tried to look at the eagle in more details. And it appeared to me that it could have paws. Again, considering only this characteristics, the mark on the spoon could be closer to Beuque #921. What about paws in Brault-Lerch #153?

Brault-Lerch #153 most definitely has “paws” (legs, really). Still, to my eye, it better resembles Beuque #922 because of the presence of the two columns over the wings, taken from the Besançon arms: see here. These columns are on every one of the fifty-three Besançon maker’s marks from 1622-1789 illustrated in Brault-Lerch, and Beuque #921 is plainly incorrect without them. (Although worn, the columns are definitely visible in your mark.)

In other words could we face an undocumented version of Jean-François Mâle mark?

I think it’s likelier that both the Beuque illustrations are simply inaccurate renderings of the same mark, taken from different items. I’ll try to scan and post the pertinient marks from Brault-Lerch this weekend and you can judge for yourself.

I should add that Brault-Lerch does not have a mark attributed to Jean-François Maublanc, and he specifically states that Beuque mis-identifies Mâle’s mark as Maublanc’s. In fact, according to Brault-Lerch, his name was not Jean- but Jacques-François Maublanc (1654-1694) and he became a master on 22 Sep 1677, not 1670.

As for Jean-François Mâle, he was born around 1713 and was apprenticed in 1727 to goldsmith Simon Arbilleur. Arbilleur died only three years later and, unable to find another master in Besaçon, Mâle entered the army and completed the final four years of his indenture in service to the King. Not surprisingly, then, he failed his first Master’s exam in 1737, becoming a master only on his second attempt on 19 Dec 1740. He appears in numerous guild, parochial and civil records records over the next thirty years, marrying and having several children. Brault-Lerch notes twenty works by him, both liturgical and civil, including several spoons and couverts from the 1740’s. He died on 23 Oct 1769, aged 56. He was succeded by his widow, Philiberte Cornet, and later his son Claude-Alexis Mâle (1742-1783; Master 1774).

[dinio]

Thank you Blakstone for all this detailed information. I agree with you for the presence of these columns over the eagle's wings, and all the questions seems to be solved when using the most accurate and authoritative documentation.
I would be grateful if, as you suggested, you could post scan of these marks taken out of Brault-Lerch.

Thank you again for the help.
Dinio

PS : sorry for the 'paws' which, I understand, are not suited for a bird: I am not clever enough with English subtleties.

[blakstone]

OK; here are the marks from Brault-Lerch which I think are those on your spoon:


And, for comparison:

Brault-Lerch #20, the city mark in use ca. 1737 — 1740 . . .


Brault-Lerch #22, the city mark in use after 1777 (note the fleur-de-lys)


Brault-Lerch #108, the date letter for 1778/79

[dinio]

Thanks a lot Blakstone for these scans. They correspond in all aspects to the marks on the spoon. I am a bit disapointed by Beuque's 'Poinçons de Maîtres' errors, because marks #921 and #922 correspond to nothing, and I used to trust this reference until now. I will have to change my mind and improve my documentation.
Thanks again for your very instructive contribution.
Dinio