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I have another little question on French silver.
I bought this saupoudreuse which has a slightly different "premier coq": there is an A to the left of the paws.
I found this variant on a website, but without an explanation. What exactly does the A to the left of the paws mean?
Also I can't find the number on the vieillard's head.
Any help will be invaluable.
Thanks for your attention
Amena
Hello Amena
You have 2 rare marks: the cockerel A silver standard mark and the mirror image guarantee mark, in use for one year only, in 1798. The French mint had intended to use letter dates for the silver standard mark beginning in 1798, but only got as far as the letter A.
For a full explanation of these two marks, see below:
You also have a 1809 recount mark (poinçon de recense) of a right ear on a horizontal axis, and a crab silver standard mark, punched at some later date.
I can’t quite make out the maker’s mark in the lozenge-shaped reserve. Perhaps you could sharpen up that image?
Hi JayT
Many thanks for the very interesting information.
I am attaching below a better photo of the silversmith's mark, but it is not very well struck.
Thanks again and best regard
Amena
Thank you for showing us these marks. It has been my pleasure to help.
I think I’ve found your silversmith: Charles-Éloi Haeghen or Hacghen, maker of smalls (la petite orfèvrerie) working in Paris at 29, rue St-Martin. His symbol was a drill and its pulley mounted vertically (un foret monté et sa poulie placée en long). He registered 16 July 1807, erased 1813 when his widow, then later his son, took over the business. Haeghen’s widow then son son were succeeded by L. Denoyelle in 1814, working at the same address, and using the same symbol, but upside down. It doesn’t bother me that your object was made in 1798, earlier than the date of Haeghen’s registration. The post-Revolutionary period was quite chaotic, so registrations were a bit haphazard. Nocq doesn’t show a record for Haeghen in Paris in the pre-Revolutionary period, but I believe that he was well-trained, perhaps elsewhere in France.
See Arminjon, vol. I, no. 00694, p. 103, and no. 02299, p. 237.
Here is some additional information. The handle is a Uniplat model. Bilgi Kenber, the important collector of saupoudreuses, has done extensive research about these spoons, and has made a typology of the piercing designs. Your spoon would be categorized as Type I, with the central design being a daisy surrounded by tulips. A foliage frieze runs along the rim of the bowl.
Kenber, Bilgi et al. Les cuillers à sucre dans l’orfèvrerie française du XVIIIe siècle. Paris, Somogy éditions d’art, 2005. 255pp.
