Frankfurt sauceboat on stand?

[historydetective]

This sauceboat on stand is 6 1/8" long x 4 1/8" wide and 4 ¼” tall and weighs 163 grams. With the help of some wise friends, I’m now thinking the bird mark in an oval is possibly the city mark of Ilmenau or Frankfurt/Oder or Strausberg in Brandenburg. I’m interested in the date, of course, and the maker. All 4 of the pictured marks are on the underside of one of the legs. Additionally, there is a mark that I believe to be the 19th century French import mark guarantee of at least 800 purity — a weevil in an oval (not pictured). The weevil mark is located on the topside of the rim. Please note that the areas of coppery patina are a result of the poor choice of a lace tablecloth as a backdrop.

[Hose_dk]

I simply love that ornament (flower) on the leg.

[blakstone]

Very, very nice piece. Not German at all, though, but Dutch, from the period of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Holland. The marks, left to right:

?IM = maker’s mark, possibly Johannes A. de Meyer, working ’s-Gravenhage 1785-1811
crown = mark for first standard (.934) silver
stork = city mark for ’s-Gravenhage/Den Haag/The Hague
a = date letter for 1807-1809

Again, thanks for sharing and hope this helps!

[historydetective]

Blakstone,
Yes, that information certainly does help! I've been all over the world with this piece, in a figurative sense. I started off thinking the bird was an emu, and that the other marks were possibly Australian in imitation of British marks. I must give credit where credit is due: a friend on the eBay Antiques Board theorized correctly that the marks were from Gravenhage - go Sue!! It's wonderful to have your (Blakstone's) expert interpretation of what each mark signifies.

I wish I knew more provenance; after reading about The Hague and your kind comments, I have visions of it belonging to someone quite aristocratic.

Thanks again for your tremendous help.

[historydetective]

In the May/June 2013 issue of Silver Magazine in an article titled, "Silver from Amsterdam Crafted by Members of the Helweg Dynasty of Silversmiths," shared by Rowland L. Matteson, pages 12-15, I found two interesting statements that to some degree add a basis for understanding the historical context of this sauceboat on stand made in The Hague in the early 19th century: "Amsterdam provided the most important source of silver items in the Netherlands. During the eighteenth century, one-fourth of all the silversmiths working in the Netherlands were found in Amsterdam. For example, in 1768 Amsterdam had two hundred forty-three silversmiths, while Rotterdam had fifty-five, The Hague had fifty-nine, Leiden had twenty-seven, and Aalkmar had twenty-two...In 1795 the Province of Holland--the most populous, wealthy, and powerful of the Netherland's provinces--and where Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague are located, held and ingathering of items in silver and gold to attempt to improve the finances of the province. In consequence, a large number of silver items were melted down and as a result, the number of silver items which survived this ingathering is not large." Perhaps the dearth of silver items that resulted from this "ingathering" created the need for this sauceboat on stand to be crafted in "Den Haag" in 1807-1809 - thanks again to Blakstone for the identification.

[oel]

Hi Historydetective,

You have a vivid fantasy, for the record; in 1795 the Low Countries ( Republic of the Seven United Netherlands) are conquered and occupied by the French armies. The Austrian Netherlands, the Prince Bishopric of Liege, Luxemburg and the present Limburg province are annexed by the French Republic. Proclamation of the Batavian Republic, a French satellite state. The Batavian Republic (Dutch: Bataafse Republiek) was the successor of the Republic of the United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on January 19, 1795, and ended on June 5, 1806, with the accession of Louis Bonaparte to the throne of the Kingdom of Holland.
In 1795 it was determined by the then French rulers, by way of taxation in the provinces of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht, that all gold and silver objects had to be handed in to be melted down, with some exceptions including spoons and forks. The objects had to be handed in, being an extra tax, to pay for the French Republics’ war debts. If the owners would like to keep those silver objects, they also could choose to pay in cash for the value of the metal. As a proof of the fact that the object had been redeemed, a tax paid mark was punched on the object, in general, the date letter used in 1795. The city of Alkmaar punched a flowery script letter L and Amsterdam used a smaller version of the going date letter L. The Hague used date letter Y uncrowned and Utrecht used a different mark.
The old province mark of Holland used for 1st standard of silver temporarily changed, only for a few months, into a smaller version, still being a lion rampant but uncrowned and for new objects only.

NB. I personally believe that during turmoil important silver objects are hidden, kept out of sight for a while. Wealthy merchants and other could pay for the value of the metal. Others may have punched a ‘fake ‘ date letter to fool the French. Through the Ages silver objects always have been melted down, to be made back into coins and bars, to generate hard cash, even today as we write.

An example for Amsterdam tax paid during the year of 1795


From left to right:
Amsterdam date letter D for 1788; Amsterdam city guild mark (upside down); Small sized letter L, tax paid mark for Amsterdam punched in 1795; Crowned V for large items; duty mark for foreign and other untaxed objects used 1814-1893. This duty mark does not give any guarantee of a precious metal standard of fineness. This mark has been used on metal with a 250 minimum silver content as a duty mark. This mark was destined for all imported, unmarked and invalid marked objects of foreign, national and unknown origin. Upon the invalidation of the hallmarks of Louis Napoleon’s kingdom of Holland and those of the French Empire in 1816, this mark also has been used as a tax free census mark; Province of Holland mark, lion rampant crowned (upside down)





Oel.

[oel]

Some facts about the silversmiths in the province of Holland. In 1795, compared to Amsterdam, The Hague was a small city. The Hague, governmental city of the Low Countries and with special citizens being; high ranking government officials, high ranking army officers, provincial delegates, foreign diplomats, Nobility & Royalties. You also could say the silversmiths of The Hague were trend setting, modern but also copying French styles, to full fill the needs of there cosmopolitan clienteles. Compared to Amsterdam, in proportion the citizen of The Hague were much richer in money and taste.


Your sauce-boat, from left to right;
The date letter C, turned 90 degrees to the right, in an oval shield used; 21st December 1809 till 17th December 1810, followed by the Stork or the guild city mark of The Hague, followed by the Crown for silver of 1st standard = 934/1000 and the makers’ mark: IAT conjoined for; Johannes A. van der Toorn, The Hague 1795-1811


Oel.

[historydetective]

I am certain the silversmith you named is the correct one, Oel, because I was able to find a nearly identical piece online that was described as follows:
"A Dutch silver brazier
Indistinct mark of Johannes Adrianus van der Toorn, The Hague, 1815
Navette-shaped, on oval wood base with four cylindrical-shaped supports, on four scroll feet, the plain body with openwork upper band pierced and engraved with hearts, reeded rim and detachable copper liner, marked on base
14.8 cm. wide"
Mine is, of course, missing the copper liner and without the strange wooden base. Thank you for the additional information, Oel. Identifying these older pieces is usually a work in progress, I suppose.

[oel]

Silver brazier is a type of utensil that provides heat by burning charcoal; it is sometimes used for warming or cooking foods in a pan placed upon it over the charcoal.

Never thought it to be a brazier but I found the lot description, according to my information Johannes Adrianus van der Toorn worked from 1795-1838
The maker’s mark and an example of is work is shown in the Dutch book; Haags goud en zilver, Edelsmeedkunst uit de Hofstad by Jet Pijzel-Dommisse
Yes, we are never too old to learn and it is an on going process.


Lot DescriptionA Dutch silver brazier
Indistinct mark of Johannes Adrianus van der Toorn, The Hague, 1815
Navette-shaped, on oval wood base with four cylindrical-shaped supports, on four scroll feet, the plain body with openwork upper band pierced and engraved with hearts, reeded rim and detachable copper liner, marked on base
14.8 cm. wide


Oel.