Antique Marks
This pocket-sized guide to identifying and interpreting metal and ceramic marks has been improved with the addition of the most recent hallmarks, along with details of the new hallmarking system.Do you attend car boot sales or browse in antique shops in search of bargains? Have you ever wished you knew more about grandma’s silver spoon? Do you envy the experts’ ability to identify and date old hand-me-downs? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, Collins Gem Antique Marks is for you.Packed with thousands of clear illustrations, the book shows hallmarks on silver, gold and platinum, as well as those on Old Sheffield Plate, pewter, pottery and porcelain. Complete with a history of hallmarks and how to read them, Collins Gem Antique Marks is absolutely indispensable.The book provides:Full hallmarks for silver from London, Edinburgh, York, Norwich, Exeter, Dublin, Newcastle, Chester, Glasgow, Birmingham and Sheffield, along with maker’s marks from these cities.Up-to-date hallmarks for gold and platinum.Old Sheffield plate marks, showing the variety of maker’s marks.Pewter marks and a selection of pewter touch marks.Pottery and porcelain marks showing both letter and name marks, and symbol marks.
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Antique Marks
The Diagram Group
Contents
Hallmarks on silver, gold and platinum
Indian colonial gold and silver
Leading goldsmiths and silversmiths
Goldsmiths’ and silversmiths’ terminology
Ceramic makers’ marks: symbols
Do you ever attend car boot sales or browse in antique shops in search of bargains? Have you ever wished you knew more about your grandmother’s silver spoon, or that old piece of china which has been around your home for so many years? Do you envy the experts’ ability to identify and date such fascinating hand-me-downs? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then Collins need to know? Antique Marks is for you.
Spanish chalice with repousse and chased decoration, 1670
The book begins with a clear and thorough guide to the hallmarks stamped on British gold and silver since the Middle Ages, and those now found on platinum. The precious metals section continues with pages exclusively devoted to American, African and Asian gold and silver; a historical review of leading goldsmiths and silversmiths; and a glossary of the terminology currently used by the professionals.
The second section of the book looks at the quite different marks to be found on Old Sheffield Plate. A representative selection of pewter makers’ marks is provided next, as an introduction to these once very common household wares. This section closes with an examination of some traditional techniques used in working with precious metals.
The final section of the book surveys the vast range of marks to be found on pottery or porcelain, both from Britain and the rest of Europe, and from China and Japan. There are also profiles of leading pottery and porcelain manufacturers; some background information on methods of ceramic construction and surface work; and a glossary of ceramic terminology.
While the depth of knowledge of the true expert requires years of experience in studying and handling antiques, Collins need to know? Antique Marks will provide you with the instant means to interpret the marks that are often crucial in assessing antique objects.
Nuremberg faïence jug, early 18th century
Precious metals are those materials favoured by craftsmen for making objects of beauty: gold, silver and in recent times platinum. The objects made in Europe were and are under the control of each country’s government. Marks were struck on some part of the object to identify its date of manufacture, the place of origin and its maker. This section contains British hallmarks from the 16th century, location marks of government assay offices and a selection of British craftsmen’s marks.
Silver and gold are prized for their useful and attractive properties. Gold was one of the first metals to be discovered. Being soft and easy to work, colourful, bright and resistant to corrosion, it was ideal for jewellery and other decorative objects.
must know
The high value of these three metals makes it essential to have legally enforced standards of purity. The craft of the silversmith has been regulated by Parliamentary Acts and Royal Ordinances since the late 12th century.
Its scarcity ensured that its value remained high. Silver is harder and less scarce than gold, and more widely used in everyday life. Both have been mined in modest quantities in Britain since Roman times.
Platinum was unknown in Europe until 1600. It only became available commercially in the 19th century, and has been regulated in Britain since 1975. It is mainly used for jewellery.
Since 1 January 1975, a simplified scheme of hallmarks has been in use for British silver, gold and platinum, as directed by the 1973 Hallmarking Act.
Pre-1975 hallmarks and what they mean
Under British regulations, any object made of silver or gold is stamped with various ‘hallmarks’ to show when it was made, by whom, where it was made or tested for purity, and most importantly, how pure it is. The term ‘hallmark’ is derived from Goldsmiths’ Hall, the guild hall of the London Goldsmiths’ Company, the body that oversaw the first assay marks in Britain. In 1300, the sterling standard was established at 925 parts of silver per 1000. No object could leave the craftsman’s hands until it had been assayed (tested) and marked with a punch depicting a leopard’s head. Other assay offices were set up in the English provinces, in Scotland and Ireland, and all but the smallest had their own mark of origin.
Marks of origin on British silver to 1974
The mark of origin identifies the town or city where an item was assayed. Since 1300, London has used the leopard’s head
