Anyone know about French Master Goldsmith ( and Silversmith) Henry Kindberg of Paris (1824-1838)?

Anyone know about French Master Goldsmith ( and Silversmith) Henry Kindberg of Paris (1824-1838)? His mark is of what appears to be a grasshopper (or cricket) with an arrow through it. I would like to know more about him. He seems to be very popular in France as his stuff comes up for auction there every once in awhile through reputable places (e.g. Christies, Sotheby's, Proantic).

 

Welcome, GoodEye. Sorry to say that neither of my go-to sites for European silver have anything about him (which, frankly, I found a tad odd.) In fact a 10-year old post on one site's forum asking for identification of this mark, finally got an answer with only the name and dates you already have. (Again an odd situation, since a "master" maker of a significant reputation should have been fairly easy for one of the many European contributors to answer much more quickly than that. Certainly shouldn't have taken 10 years for someone to come along with it.)

One thing to mention, though, in case you are not aware. All the items I get when searching the web with that name and mark are silver plated and not solid silver. Which is what I expected to see, actually, since French makers of solid silver items are required to use a diamond-shaped cartouche. A square is used for plate. The 10 that accompanies it has to do with the quantity of silver used in the plating. And finally, the word "Double" is also only seen on the maker's marks of French plated wares.

I hope all that was helpful and apologize that I'd don't have more.

 

Well, I'll be darned. Now I see you have already found the 2 year old query we had right here. And got the benefit of one of our best researchers' skills.

I knew that mark looked familiar!

 

Yes, I have been coming up at a loss like you. I was already aware he did silverplate--though I was surprised to see him referenced as a Master Goldsmith by more than one French auction site. I did also already know some of the other things you had to share. However, you might be able to clarify what the 10 means. I know that it indicates the quality of silver; but is 10 high quality or low quality? Thanks, Rachel

 

It depends on how you look at. Since you have chafing dishes(?), it means 10 grams to plate the whole item.

On flatware, when large quantities of pieces are plated at the same time, you do see higher numbers because of the larger surface area to be plated, but that doesn't mean the plating is any thicker.

You should find this article on the subject of interest.

http://www.925-1000.com/a_platenumbers.html

 

Yes, I just photographed this mark today. I believe I have captured the best photo on the web yet. The arrow through the grasshopper is clearly defined.

An interesting theory of mine about that arrow (though I could be way off):

I wonder if the arrow signifies Kindberg's dissatisfaction or political views of the French monarchy at that time. The reason why I wonder this is because I know that the French used bugs as part of their hallmarking system. (If the bug was from a bird's eye view, then it was from a French province. If the bug was in profile, then it was made in Paris itself.) Well, Kindberg chose to do an arrow straight through the bug.

In addition, Kindberg lived during the most turbulent time in all of France's history. Every year was a campaign, revolution, or war--if not all three. Based on Kindberg's time of production (1824-1838), I believe it reasonable to deduce he probably lived during the great French Revolution (or was brought up during it) which eventually gave way to the Napoleonic Wars. The monarchy was changing hands left and right as they fought over the throne--and as the people revolted against the monarchy forcing the abdication of some of the kings. In fact, between 1804 and 1848, the throne changed hands 9 times.

Well, if the grasshopper represents France (or if in profile, Paris itself), and there is an arrow through it, it seems to me there could be a lot read into this. Do I have a piece that gives a glimpse of the sentiment of the people at the time? I sure wish I knew a French silver antique expert/historian that could tell me a little more about Kindberg. How did Kindberg come to be in France? (Sounds like a name of Jewish-German descent.) How did he come to be a silversmith? Why was Kindberg's time of production so brief? When did he die? What did he die from? Was he killed in war? Was he forced to flee the country? Etc...

I will say one thing: his stuff sure is popular at the auction houses in France. But no one knows of him on this side of the world. I wonder what the French know that we don't.

 

Thanks!

 

By the way, here is a photo of the chafing dishes I salvaged from the thrift store. First thing you'll notice are that they are copper. Well, because they were almost exclusively copper, I thought they were originally produced as copper pieces. I set about to clean them (they were dreadful--they even had leftover 100 year-old tape inside the lids) and as I cleaned the black spots, silver emerged. I panicked at first...thinking that I had removed the copperplate and exposed the base metal. Then after inspecting the item more closely, I realized that the black marks were tarnished silverplate and that I had merely polished the original finish. Looks like the previous owners removed the original finish--which was silverplate--a long time ago. I know that the removal of the original silverplate could be construed as a tragic ending. But truth be told, the brilliant copper that has emerged is gloriously warm and beautiful-almost like a phoenix emerging from the ashes.

 

I'd read 10e as dixieme, or tenth, abbreviated. More usually 10me. or even 10eme. so I am probably wrong. The date indicates Sheffield plate (mechanically joined silver and copper sheet rolled out thin, not limited to Sheffield, England) not electroplating. The ten could mean 1/10th silver in the copper/silver material.

 

That's something I have not seen mentioned, AF, but given the timeframe, it certainly makes sense! I knew they couldn't be electroplated within the timeframe given for Kindberg's work, but thought perhaps it was the working dates that were incorrect.