Interesting Marrow Scoop

[dognose]

Hi,

I would be interested on anyones' thoughts on this marrow scoop, it's 8 1/4" in length and whilst quite narrow it is of a heavy gauge.
It has only two marks, a makers mark JM in an oblong box, and a head in profile facing right very similar to a British duty mark and contained in a circle. The head is that of a young man and has been made by a quality engraver, not like the ones normally found on pseudo-marks.
Finally there is a nice engraving done in the Scottish style of a crest of which I believe is a branch of the Maxwell family, this is surmounted by the word "Reviresco" (I Live Again),
Any help would be appreciated.

Regards Trev.


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[dognose]

Hi,

When I acquired this marrow scoop, I was immediately reminded of a story that I heard many years ago, and when I posted I hoped someone might confirm the story without me prompting them, thus bringing some credilbility to it, as I had heard it only once.
I was told the reason provincial makers avoided official hallmarking in Scotland for so long was that anti-English feeling still ran very high in Scotland, official marking meant paying duty to the English Government and that went against the grain for many Scots, and the final insult as far as they were concerned was when King George's head appeared on their silver in 1784, this incensed many, the last thing they wanted to see when they were eating was an image of the disliked English King stamped onto the silver that they had paid for.
To counteract this, one provincial silversmith started supplying his customers that had strong Jacobite leanings, with wares stamped with an alternative mark, that of "The Young Pretender" Bonnie Prince Charlie, whose rebellion had failed in 1745 but was still a figurehead for the Stuart cause.
I have never heard the story again, but it is certainly plausible, I have seen other non-silver items relating to this theme such as drinking glasses and fans.
Could this marrow scoop be one of those pieces? The engraved crest is certainly Scottish.
I would be very interested to hear if others have heard of this story, and in light of this possible information, their views would very much be apprecaited.

Regards Trev.
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[Scotprov]

Sorry to bring bad news, but the Jacobite story is a non-starter.
I contacted the top expert, and he is sure that this is a normal Edinburgh piece, all-be-it missing the thistle, castle and date letter.
Richard
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[dognose]

Hi Richard,

Many thanks for your efforts on this piece. When I orignally accessed this item I was quite confident, that whilst very similar, it was not an official Duty mark. The impression was so good, the detail appeared to be that of a younger head than normally seen. In view of your information I compared this one with other examples of Edinburgh Duty marks and agree that it is Edinburgh.
It's not bad news, far from it, I'm delighted to have its origins confirmed, its a mystery solved, but the story, well, I'd have been even more delighted if that were true!
Thanks again.

Regards Trev.
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[Scotprov]

Hello Trev,

Just keep searching. There are still goodies lying around unrecognised, and someone has to pick them up.
You have a nice scoop there, and we've both learnt about the veracity of the old 'stories'.
Thinking on it, to produce a punch as good and clear as your duty mark, it would have cost a bomb. An outlay which would have been very difficult to recover, for the smith.
A lot of pieces would have been required, with the purchasers, effectively, paying the normal duty price, at minimum, of 6d per ounce. A further drawback, of course, would be that the purchasers would have been at the mercy of the smith, from a blackmail point of view, at a later time, if the smith fell upon hard times.
I suppose that an alternative could have been for a group of rich Jacobite supporters to have had the punch made, letting smiths use it when they made pieces for them, but the blackmail problem would still have been there.

Richard
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[Escafeldia]

The makers mark looks like Johnathan Millidge - the top of the "J" and the "M" look to be joined. He operated from 1820 to 1832.
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[dognose]

Hi Escafeldia,

Yes I agree, he does seem to be the most likely candidate, and the dating would make a good fit.
Thanks for your imput.

Regards Trev.
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