www.925-1000.com

The silversmith in question, Abraham van Heusden of Amsterdam, 1784-1812, used to stamp his wares with a rectagonal, simple hallmark and the letter typeface seems similar to me. Could it be his own on my bowl?
I give below reference to the original object. Seemingly too large a picture to incorporate here:
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj51 ... hBowl2.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hi,

I don't think so, his mark was AVH (in a few different varieties). Usually the 800 mark is not Dutch.
The style is also not right for that period.

Hope that helped.

Thanks a lot, nevertheless. For a moment last night I thought
that I held a genuine antique in my hands. So back to the drawing board.

IMG]http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj51 ... s/data.jpg[/IMG]
The above is a genuine hallmark of this silversmith as culled from http://www.zilverkeuren.nl/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Only under magnification one can see that the token of nobility, pre-fix Van, is worked as extra line to the letter A. I have noted the same method used with the name of another silversmith, Adam van der Goorberg of Delft so there is a lesson in it to us all.
Alas, I have to accept it now that my "dutch tulip bulb storage bowl" is just a
London bound XIXc Hanau import.

when anything is marked 800, 700, 830, 925, 950 or the like - part of 1.000 we talk new silver.
It is almost only 100 years ago that we started calculating silver in 1.000 parts. In Denmark we started in 1893 - so any decimal figure - you know after 1893 - in other words it is brand new.

fatso wrote:Thanks a lot, nevertheless. For a moment last night I thought
that I held a genuine antique in my hands. So back to the drawing board.

But still I like your bowl. Style is newer but it is very "usable" so it is a fine thing.

Hi,

The "van" part in a Dutch name is alas not a token of nobility as is usually the case in the German equivalent "von".

Doos, I used it in a tongue in cheek fashion.
Rembrandt van Rijn or the above two great
silversmiths would not care to enrich humanity
being of noble stock, would they? Rape and pillage
would be their trade rather.

Doos wrote: Usually the 800 mark is not Dutch.

I agree. Dutch silver with an alloy of 800/1000 is a legal Dutch alloy since 1987, in which case a .Z. mark is used.

best regards,
Janjaap