Identifying a new acquisition is one of the prime pleasures and challenges of collecting. Identifying a piece of silver means answering all the questions of where, when, by whom and ideally also for whom the item was made. Hallmarks, makers’ marks and inscriptions are the keys to most of the answers, but if marks are not complete an expert may find the answers in the details of style and decorative techniques in much the same way as experts in art may recognize the master of a painting without checking the signature. Even the size and proportions of a napkin ring may indicate period, maker and country of origin.
Marks
Silver marks include:
* Hall marks.
* Maker’s marks
* Designer's marks and design numbers.
Hall marks (first applied by London's Goldsmiths Hall) are the marks of the national entity in charge of control of all silver of that country. The standard guide to hall marks of the world is Tardy’s “International Hallmarks on Silver”, available in both English and French.
On the internet http://www.925-1000.com/ is worth visiting.
For maker's marks books are still the best sources. Any directory of makers’ marks will cover only a limited geography and period. Creating a new book of this kind typically takes decades. Consequently a library of directories of silvermarks of the world is expensive and never quite up to date. Besides they are often written in the local language only.
Internet sources on maker's marks are developing rapidly. A range of links are given in http://www.925-1000.com/. For
Annelies Krekel-Alberse’s “Art Nouveau and Art Deco Silver” (available in several languages) offers a different approach. An appendix shows nearly 300 marks of the best international makers 1880-1940. Though limited in number these marks covers a large part of what is today considered collectable silver of the modern movement.
Makers marks in the industrial age
As a collector you expect a maker’s mark to identify the person or company responsible for the design and production of the item. This is not always the case.
When silver marks were first introduced centuries ago, the silversmith had all the roles of designer, producer and retailer of his work. With the industrial age came division of labour. That allowed for separate companies to handle production and sale. As members of the silver trade both would register their own maker's mark. In principle this opened for four combinations of maker's marks:
a. Maker's mark of the producer only
b. Maker's mark of the retailer only
c. Maker's marks of both producer and retailer
d. No maker's mark
Surprisingly all four combinations are found. A few remarks about the market for silver 1850-1950 will explain why.
Many retailers were themselves established silversmiths with own production of high quality silver. They would occasionally buy high end designs from other manufacturers, but they preferred to mark with their own maker's mark. Other retailers were small local silversmiths selling mainly mass produced run of the mill silver mixed with a few of their own handmade items. They too would like to make their customers believe, that everything in their shop was “home made”.
After the world exhibitions 1851-1925 the division of labour in the silver trade became truly international. For silver crossing national borders the hallmarks of both the exporting and importing country might be involved. In some countries the hallmarking system introduced special marks to be applied on imported goods. This was for example the case for
About 1900 the large German manufacturers were the dominating exporters of silver offering hundreds of different designs of napkin rings in jugendstil and art nouveau.
These manufacturer would deliver in silver grades 800, 830, 835, 900 or sterling (925) as required by the importer and they would apply or leave out their maker's mark and the German hall marks as requested by the retailer. Only the number stating the content of silver seems to be applied on all items.
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Examples
- Culme’s “London Silvermarks 1830-
A case of only the retailer’s marks being found is the famous Kate Harris art nouveau designs produced by William Hutton and sons. They are found either with Hutton’s own marks or with the marks of Connell or The Goldsmiths’ & Silversmiths’ Co. Ltd.
In 1893 a new Danish hallmarking act required a makers mark on all silver. As a consequence of internatonal trade and division of labour the maker was now defined as the retailer responsible to his customers for the goods he sold. (This was taken to its full consequence in the latest European agreements on international hallmarking in which the word sponsor is used instead of maker).
The act of 1893 made hallmarking optional in Denmark, but if not hallmarked (guaranteing grade 826 and later 830) a mark stating the silver content became mandatory.
Depending on the importers wishes the - mainly German - exporters would often mark with the silver quality only and leave makers marking and possible Danish hall marking to the retailer. Similarly the large Danish manufacturers Cohr and Grann & Laglye would mark with silver quality or arrange for hallmarking but leave the maker’s mark to the retailer. In some cases the retailer did not apply his makers’ mark leading to items being sold with the marks for silver quality only. The identification of the producer of such items requires expert knowledge.
With the developments from classic craft to modern design the name of the designer became important. In the small workshops leading the new developments the silversmith was normally also the chief designer, but in the large industrial enterprises the designer might be employed ad oc or on contract. It is probably no coincidence, that the famous Russian Faberge decided to place the mark of the workmaster in charge of every item or that the almost equally famous Danish Georg Jensen from the very start as a small workshop marked all items with both designers name and design number. In the superb American silver from the decades before 1900 most of the large manufacturers marked all items with design numbers.
Unknown marks, unclear marks and unmarked items
For unknown, unclear or missing makers’ marks some internet sources (including http://www.silver-collector.com/ and http://www.925-1000.com/ offers the possibility of presenting photos of item and marks to experts or user forums.
To collectors of napkin rings the following remarks about unmarked silver and makers’ marks of the industrial age may be useful.
Unmarked silver
Occasional examples of unmarked silver are found from all countries and at all periods, however most unmarked napkin rings in silver belong to one of the following three categories:
a. American silver
b. English arts and crafts silver
c. Asian silver
American silver
With no hall marking system American silversmiths often marked with their name only.
A surprising number of American napkin rings are completely unmarked or marked only
Even napkin rings from Tiffany are found unmarked. For example two mixed-metals napkin rings with known Tiffany decorations were described in auction catalogues from Christies’,
Also napkin rings from Frank R. Whiting are found unmarked. E.g. three identical napkin rings have appeared on ebay with an unusual whirling decoration in an old japanese technique taken up by Charles Osborne before he left Tiffany for his second period with Frank Whiting. Two were marked Frank R Whiting while the third was marked with the design number only.
English arts and crafts silver
The English arts and crafts movement was rebelling not only against victorian decorative style but also against the established organisations of the silver trade. Consequently the arts and crafts idealists refused to register at Goldsmiths' Hall and to pay for the hallmarking of their goods. Even the famous Guild of Handicraft did not start marking their napkin rings until 1899/1900.
Asian napkin rings
The napkin ring is a western tradition. Many fine napkin rings has been made in Asian countries, notably