Chats on Old Silver

II. Table showing =Differences of Shields= in Hall Marks, Standard Marks, and Date Marks of London Assay Office, from the Accession of Queen Elizabeth to the present day (page 3...

I. =The Hall-mark.= Its significance--The hall-mark compulsory by law--Various hall-marks.--II. =The Standard Mark.= The silver standards--The Lion _passant_ (England), the This...

The Mazer, the fifteenth-century precursor of the punch-bowl--Some historic Standing Cups (the Leigh Cup, 1499)--Stoneware jugs with silver mounts and covers--The seventeenth ce...

The silver plate of a country undoubtedly reflects the manners and customs of its users. The growth of luxury undoubtedly has had its influence upon the manufacture of a great n...

Then there is the wonderful Ashburnham salt cellar and cover of the time of Henry VII, the earliest standing salt, 12¹/₂ inches high, bearing the London hall-mark of the year 15...

The classes referred to in this chapter embrace the most delightful of the eighteenth-century silver plate, and appeal intimately to the decorative instincts of the collector. T...

From Elizabeth to the late Georges the range of spoons is a long one, and comprehends, in the early days, classes that are prohibitive in price for the pocket of the average col...

There is no doubt that the art of the goldsmith and silversmith was practised at a very early period in Ireland, as the various ornaments discovered in excavation clearly prove....

In 1685 the potter, we see, was troubled by no such fanciful problems. In the pot illustrated he makes a straightforward simple handle, best suited to his technique. Of the same...

Ecclesiastical candlesticks have been in use from earliest times. The pricket form, that is with the spike for sticking the candle on, may be seen in use to-day. This form has s...

The study of Scottish silver is a special one. Its manufacture and the statutes governing the goldsmiths and silversmiths extend back to the fifteenth century. The chief centres...

In regard to sacred vessels in use in this country before the Reformation it is noteworthy that in design they cling to a national form and differ very considerably from those u...

A cold climate demands hot cordials. There was no elaborate system of hot-water pipes in the draughty, cold, and damp Elizabethan mansions with their rush-covered floors. It was...

Early salt cellars--The standing salt--The hour-glass form--The bell-shaped salt--The seventeenth century--octagonal and circular types--The eighteenth century--trencher salts--...

“I must further advise you, Harriet,” says a lady in the _Fool of Quality_, in admonishing her daughter, “not to heap such mountains of sugar into your tea, nor to pour such a d...

Caster, Dublin (George Lyng), 1699 331 Loving-cup, with harp handles, Cork, 1694 331 Centre-piece, Dublin, 1740 335 Cream-jug, signed by Jonathan Buck, Cork, 1764 339 Cream-jug,...

Mazer, with inscription dated Exeter, 1490 87 The Leigh Cup and Cover, 1499 91 Cup and Cover, 1585 95 Stoneware Jug with Silver Cover and Foot, 1570 95 The Samuel Pepys Standing...

Hour-glass Standing Salt Cellar, 1500 143 Bell-shaped Salt Cellar, 1601 147 Circular Salt Cellar, 1638 151 Octagonal Salt Cellar, 1679, “The Sumner Salt” 155 Lambeth Delft and R...

William III and Queen Anne Casters, 1701 and 1712 269 George II Caster, Exeter, 1728 273 Group of Casters, William III, George II, and George III 277 Centre-piece, 1761 279 Cent...

Commonwealth Porringer, 1653 197 Charles II Posset-pot and Cover, 1662; Porringer, Silver-gilt, 1669 197 Charles II Porringer, 1666 201 Charles II Posset-cup and Cover, 1679 201...

Coffee-pot, Newcastle, 1737 243 Teapot (Honourable East India Company), 1670 243 Teapot, 1745 247 Kettle, with Stand and Spirit-lamp, 1746 251 Group of Coffee-pots and Teapots 2...

Charles I Candlestick, 1637 223 Lambeth Delft Candlestick, dated 1648 223 Charles II Candlesticks, 1673 227 Snuffers and Tray, 1682 231 Candlesticks Queen Anne, 1704, 1706; Geor...