Seal top spoon

[Pepperonicini]

Recently picked up this spoon. I believe this is the 'lion head erased' mark for London and the only maker I could find that overlapped with this was 'Chas Jackson' ~1714. This is just my best guess.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

[silvermakersmarks]

I have no idea what this creature is supposed to be (a goat perhaps?) but it definitely is not a London leopard's head erased. I have moved your post from London Hallmarks to European Other Countries in hopes that it might be recognised there.

Phil

[Aguest]

:::::: Do we think this is an original English spoon that has been modified? The more I look at it, the more I think it might be an imitation of a traditional English form, and we know the Chinese/Indian Silversmiths of the 19th century were re-producing the traditional English forms of silver? ::::::

:::::: There is a Chinese animal called a "Chinese Goral" which is native to China & Burma, and given how short the horns are, that animal actually looks like a "Chinese Goral" and if we go with that theory then this spoon could be an imitation of an English style, and we know that both Chinese Export Silversmiths and Indian Colonial Silversmiths were both producing imitations of traditional English forms, even very old forms (I have a Chinese Export box that is a copy of an English "Sponge Box" or "Essence Box" with a removable pierced lid, so I did some research about how Chinese/Indian silversmiths were imitating the traditional English forms of silver a few years back). ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

[Aguest]

:::: This might even be made by the same Chinese silversmith who made my Sponge Box, CUTSHING, there are some hallmarks such as just the letter "C" that have tentatively been ascribed to CUTSHING so maybe this was actually made by CUTSHING, maybe? ::::::::::::::::::

[oel]

Cutshing used the marks CU and CUT (tends to appear on smaller items), Cutshing also used the mark CU conjoined. The marks are seen in combination with pseudo British marks. To my knowledge Cutshing marks, so far, have never been found with a goat head erased, nor are his marks ever found on seal top spoons.
https://www.925-1000.com/chinex_marks.html#M
https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=a ... 3&dpr=1.25

In my opinion, this seal top spoon is marked with a goat head erased and with (maker's) mark CI in cartouche. Yes, perhaps pseudo marks, let us wait for further reactions.

Peter.

[juantotree]

It would be interesting to see an image of the join between the stem and bowl.

Martin

[Pepperonicini]

Thank you all for the feedback. Is it possible that it is just a very worn lions head erased that is giving it the appearance of a goat?

Here is a photo of the joint.

[oel]

Goat head erased
Lion head erased

Your goat head erased with horns, above a torse, compared to the British hallmark lion head erased, notice the differences in the cartouches, the heads and mane.
For examples see;
https://www.ascasonline.org/articoloagosto86.html
Also the rat tailed joined appears to be incorrect for an early British seal top spoon.See; https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=6 ... 3&dpr=1.25


Peter

[Aguest]

:::: Are there not casting artifacts next to the "goat-head" image? :::::: (those tiny "pock-marks" I am thinking are "casting artifacts" ? :::::::::::::::::::: Has the entire spoon been cast, maybe? :::::::

[Pepperonicini]

This is really all I can find about a goat head erased being a hallmark:

viewtopic.php?t=41087

Seems to be a hallmark for a town in Sweden?

[oel]

The Swedish city mark of Hudiksvall, a goat head facing right is not the same as your goat head erased. Your spoon also lacks the other distinct Swedish hallmarks.

Peter.

[Aguest]

:::: In a coincidence, my sponge box by CUTSHING also had a similarity to a Swedish hallmark, although it is far from a perfect match with the Swedish town mark, it had enough similarities such that I considered it to be imitative of the Swedish town mark:

"Is the center "tree-like" hallmark the symbol for "Eksjo Sweden" in either the early or mid-18th century? :: There is a similarity to a hallmark I found for Eksjo Sweden dated 1779 so perhaps there is enough similarity to point the research in the direction of Sweden"

(my photos did not survive the Great Tinypic Purge Of 2020)

[Sasropakis]

I couldn't find a silversmith in Hudiksvall with initials CI or like that and the goat's head doesn't really look like the town marks of Hudiksvall. I don't know why anyone would imitate Hudiksvall's mark because it's not that well known.

As a general note the lack of other Swedish hallmarks wouldn't be a problem before mid-18th century because the three crowns mark was introduced only then and only major towns used their own year letter series before 1759. But I very much doubt that the spoon has any Swedish connection.

[Aguest]

:::: "Cutshing was a Chinese silversmith company in Canton that produced luxury silver, ivory, jade, and enamel items from around 1825–1875. Their work was sought after by European royalty, the Russian Imperial court, and Maharajahs." :::::::::

:::: "Cutshing's work was made to copy European styles" (the early work was made to copy European styles, but the later work incorporated themes such as dragons, bamboo, etc.). ::::

:::: I didn't understand it either, but I believe I remember reading about representatives of Cutshing actually visiting the imperial courts of European and Russian Royalty, so I was wondering if my "pseudo-Swedish" hallmark was somehow to indicate that the object was being made for the Swedish Royal Court, even if a representative didn't actually visit Sweden, the Cutshing Company might still have been taken an order for silver to be delivered to Sweden, so they manufactured specific object with a distinct "pseudo-Swedish" hallmark, that's the theory I came up with at least. ::::::

[Aguest]

:::: Now that I'm looking at this again, is it possible that I have a "goat-head" hallmark as well? :::::: What I thought was a "tree-shaped" Swedish City (Eksjo) Hallmark might actually be the "goat-head" hallmark? :::::::