Featured Matthew Boulton goblets?

Discussion in 'Silver' started by Chinoiserie, Mar 22, 2026.

  1. Chinoiserie

    Chinoiserie Well-Known Member

    I picked up these yesterday for £4.99 each. Google says they are early 19th C Matthew Boulton. The amount of wear would suggest that they do have some age. The engraving has me perplexed though. 'Christmas 1975'. If they are a fine antique why would someone do this to them?

    20260322_093903_copy_2313x3084.jpg 20260322_095232_copy_2494x3325.jpg 20260322_095237_copy_3060x4080.jpg 20260322_095244_copy_2846x3794.jpg
     
    Last edited: Mar 22, 2026
  2. DragonflyWink

    DragonflyWink Well-Known Member

    Sigh - one reason engraved dates aren't always an indicator of correct age, they may or may not have realized their age or value. Regardless, even with the engraving and quite a bit of bleeding, still nice Old Sheffield Plate and lovely to have a pair...

    ~Cheryl
     
  3. Chinoiserie

    Chinoiserie Well-Known Member

    Maybe they didn't. It might have played into my hands though, in that maybe the charity shop i bought them from were swayed by the engraving when pricing them up. I nearly didn't buy them. I thought they were Moroccan when I first looked at the mark.
     
    wlwhittier and Figtree3 like this.
  4. Chinoiserie

    Chinoiserie Well-Known Member

    I'm going to try and clean the excess polish out of them and leave it at that. Not much silver left to polish.
     
    wlwhittier and Figtree3 like this.
  5. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    I've had the idea that Sheffield Plate was silver, thicker than foil, bonded to base metal.
    So I have a puzzle about how that could have been so worn or polished away. Please forgive my ignorance...
     
    Chinoiserie likes this.
  6. Chinoiserie

    Chinoiserie Well-Known Member

    Maybe they used P60 sand paper to polish them? :)

    I'm unsure of the plating process myself. However this site says that bleeding is characteristic of OSP.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Sheffield_Plate
     
    wlwhittier likes this.
  7. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    Thanks...that was very helpful!
     
    Chinoiserie likes this.
  8. Chinoiserie

    Chinoiserie Well-Known Member

    Well it seems that the two metals are heated to near melting point to bond them. After the laminate of silver is applied to the copper it is then rolled and hammered. Not sure how thin the silver ends up. The repousse work would stretch the silver even more in the high points. I guess after the processing, there would be a layer in between the copper and silver that would be a mixture of the two. A bit like marble cake. One website stated that OPS should last 'generations' before showing signs of wear. So 200 years is perhaps long enough.
     
    Last edited: Mar 23, 2026
    Potteryplease likes this.
  9. J Dagger

    J Dagger Well-Known Member

    In another 100 years the later engraving will be a charming detail. Like a 17th century spoon passed down through a family with new initials added to it when it was gifted in the 18th century…or something like that. At least the engraving on your goblets was done well. Some stiff machine engraving would bother me. This doesn’t nearly as much as it could. Great finds, great price! I have a nice Boulton tray. It’s neat to own pieces made by important figures in history.
     
    Chinoiserie likes this.
  10. Chinoiserie

    Chinoiserie Well-Known Member

    Yes. Could be worse. I bought a couple of silver plate tankard last year. When I peeled the price labels off they had names underneath. One of them Alistair. At least Christmas has a lot more relevance to people.
     
    J Dagger likes this.
  11. J Dagger

    J Dagger Well-Known Member

    I’ve done fairly well selling items online that have family names or family crests on them. I just sent an 18th century piece with a crest to a grand second class estate in England. Buyer same name as crest. Crests have a wider appeal than names but names can sell. Especially a good old name like Alistair. Where some see a detractor I like to see a selling point. Smaller market but adds value to a few. If I see a plain mundane item I don’t want it. I see a mundane item with my family name/crest or my initials on it, I’m buying it for sure. Within reason.
     
    Any Jewelry and Chinoiserie like this.
  12. Chinoiserie

    Chinoiserie Well-Known Member

    Good to see you like a challenge. I think I've met one person called Alistair in my life though. That coupled with the other name on the cup really narrows down my potential customer base I think.
     
    J Dagger likes this.
  13. J Dagger

    J Dagger Well-Known Member

    I hear you, I’ve never met a single one. I bet there are plenty though, and I bet many of them have the internet. Pretty sure that’s one of those aristocratic names in jolly old England. Hope you end up doing well. :)
     
    Chinoiserie likes this.
  14. Chinoiserie

    Chinoiserie Well-Known Member

    Its of Scottish origin. Alasdair.

    The only one I met was indeed Scottish.

    With regards to the Matthew Boulton cups; I listed them on ebay last night and have been informed that the mark is incorrect. Reproduction. Never mind :(
     
    J Dagger and Any Jewelry like this.
  15. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Yes, very Scottish. And if there is one thing Scots don't like it is being called English.;)
    I have Scottish in-laws (or outlaws as we call each other) and used to visit Scotland a few times a year, so I have met quite a lot of Alistairs, short: Ali. The original Gaelic is Alasdair, which means Alexander.
     
    J Dagger and Chinoiserie like this.
  16. say_it_slowly

    say_it_slowly The worst prison is a closed heart

    Informed by someone that knows?
     
    Any Jewelry and Chinoiserie like this.
  17. Chinoiserie

    Chinoiserie Well-Known Member

    Randomer on ebay. I have now cross referenced the mark and mine does look a fair bit different to the genuine Boulton marks online. The marks on mine also look like they have been added after the base was soldered into place. The metal is bent in from the force. If you look at genuine Boulton pieces online, there is no indentation. The stamps I guess were added to the base with a dye or block behind, then the base soldered on. A lot of this is my supposition but makes sense no?
     
    Any Jewelry likes this.
  18. Chinoiserie

    Chinoiserie Well-Known Member

  19. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    :angelic:;)
     
    Chinoiserie likes this.
  20. J Dagger

    J Dagger Well-Known Member

    Arghh I wrote UK and erased it thinking England. I’d of been technically safe with the first lol.

    I didn’t love your marks when I first saw them. Everyone here seemed okay with them and I looked back at his marks and figured yours might just be very faded. Here are the marks from the two pieces I’ve had. 824452F5-2D4B-4876-B95E-E6C9E77A1709.jpeg 97CFF29A-570E-4E78-8C09-42A2501E2D78.jpeg
    Who knows if your eBay person is correct. Not me. You can always list it and say “marks that appear appear to be those of Matthew Boulton”. Auction houses often pull careful word play like that. Easy to miss if you’re not paying attention. I’ve learned the hard way.
     
    Chinoiserie likes this.
Draft saved Draft deleted
Similar Threads: Matthew Boulton
Forum Title Date
Silver 1908 Chester Henry Matthews Crown Perfumery Smelling Salts bottle with Silver Sleeve Mar 17, 2018

Share This Page