Featured Big Fork and European Spoons - Sterling and ? - Help!

I found this large fork that is marked Sterling in the Company name (I think). There is a mark in a diamond before and a Co. after the Sterling. It has other information such as 1000 below and a 925 above. All this is very confusing. The front is very elaborate with a big flower and draping. The fork itself is 8 1/2 inches long and wide, so not an eating fork unless you are a giant.

The two spoons are interesting because someone has etched something on the back in a European language with the date of 1928. It has some stamps and a name that starts with E that is part of the original spoon. Since I can't read the language, I don't know what the occasion for the etching was nor the company that made them or what they are made of. These spoons are less ornate on the front but even larger at 10 inches long.

Can anyone tell me anything about these miscellaneous pieces of silverware.

First the fork:




Next the spoons

 

The fork is Fessenden. https://www.925-1000.com/ax_fessenden.html

The spoons have the crescent and crown for Germany, E. Kohlsaat, no idea who that is.

 

Super information. Thank you very much. I wouldn't have got that in a million years.

So Germany has a crescent and crown mark? I thought that was an M not an H. I'll try looking again. Thank you very much.

 

Think the inscription reads “heimatgruss von Anna u. Julius. Greetings from home.

 

Looks like the McKinley pattern according to this 1890! Yipee.

Webster – 1890 (sterlingflatwarefashions.com)

 

Wonderful. I thought it might be a wedding thing. Obviously professionally etched, so a real heartfelt gift! Thank you.

 

The arrow mark is for Robbe & Berking from Flensburg, near the border with Denmark.
E. Kohlsaat was probably the retailer.

The town of Heide, the 'Heimat' (homeland) where Anna and Julius sent their greetings from, is also near the border with Denmark.

More on Robbe & Berking:
https://www.silvercollection.it/WORLDSILROBBEBERKING.html

 

Perfect. Excellent information. Just what I was looking for. I looked at their patterns and this wasn't among them but it seems there was some etching on the face so maybe hand made rather that poured.

 

At the size stated for the fork, it's likely some type of fancy serving fork with what looks like a gold wash on the tines. It's lovely!

 

Thank you. I was wondering about the color. I want to clean the dark bits off. Do you have any suggestions about how to do this?

 

Just use a gentle silver polish. I use Hagerty's silver foam. Sometimes you have to work at it, just be sure not to press too hard. That fork is sooo pretty!

 

Cool. I didn't want to damage the gold wash. Thank you.

 

Hi Kiko - was almost certainly sold as a large cold meat fork.

Don't know a name for the spoon pattern, it's not particularly uncommon in German and Scandinavian silver, the engraved motif on this one would be appropriate for the engraved date (no etching, which is done with acid). Not quite sure if you mean 'cast' when referencing 'poured', but the spoons (and of course the fork as well), were factory die-struck, only the engraving done by hand...


~Cheryl

 

Cheryl,

Thanks for weighing in. I appreciate you identifying its use as it is too big for my spooner.

I love it when you talk the silver spoon language. I know some art glass terms, but am lost when it comes to metal vocabulary. I genuinely thought they poured metal into spoon molds, but now I see they squish them into molds. Very talented engraver for these spoons. Thank you very much for your insights.

 

Just sharing a fairly short video on industrial flatware production, which was common from the mid 19th century (I've always considered die-cutters the unsung heroes of flatware production):



~Cheryl

 

Fascinating. I had no idea it was so complicated. Modern manufacturing techniques make this stuff seem so easy, but all the hand work makes the older pieces so much more interesting. Thank you for sharing this.