Featured My first silverware: Early Victorian salver

Discussion in 'Silver' started by shamster, Dec 23, 2025 at 3:23 AM.

  1. shamster

    shamster Well-Known Member

    Hello everyone,

    this is my first post in the silverware forum and hope my question isn’t too stupid!

    I just bought this English sterling silver salver, hallmarked in 1846, London. The maker is identified as George Ivory, there is a thread on another silver collecting website which has interesting extra information related to his business:https://www.silver-collector.com/t/looted-silver-from-the-summer-palace/9788
    IMG_5555.jpeg 851e791348462072a0b183b4a8a9251a.jpeg

    it’s 20cm in diameter, 370 grams in weight. Theirs a badge in the center- head of an antelope, with thistle in its mouth and three stars on its collar. Also the chased pattern includes female faces, various birds, and something looks like torches? Is there anything I should know about my salver?
    dd162ce341e1d30b8b5b9c77d8a0f5e6.jpeg IMG_5554.jpeg
    Also, do you think there’s any need to XRF test it when I received it? Does the hallmark guarantee it’s 100% sterling silver with absolutely no exceptions? Again, I hope this doubt doesn’t sound too silly, but I always have paranoid when comes to $$$ piece like this one.

    Thanks for any comment!
     
    Last edited: Dec 23, 2025 at 6:04 AM
    Marote, Misfit38 and Any Jewelry like this.
  2. shamster

    shamster Well-Known Member

    PS: I think at some point the seller polished it and here’s a more recent photo of the hallmarks: d4d618e8c960494cabbd83d4e7aea650.jpeg
     
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  3. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    The mullets could be dolphins (sort of). Maybe one of the crests of the Freer family?
    https://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~sfreer/coafreer.html

    In general, antelopes symbolize (spiritual) purity.
     
  4. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    European assay marks are reliable, as long as they are actually marked in Europe, which includes the UK.
    Unfortunately there are fakes from China:sorry::bag::kiss:, but this looks like a genuine period piece, it has real natural wear.
     
  5. shamster

    shamster Well-Known Member

    Interesting information, you think that represents a real family with some sort of title or whatever? Since it’s not an official coat of arms :sorry: forgive my lack of heraldic knowledge.
    Also since it has thistle in its mouth, does that suggest Scottish origin? The salver itself was hallmarked in London
     
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  6. shamster

    shamster Well-Known Member

    it’s also fascinating to think how assay offices can accurately test all those pieces to see if they meet the standards, and never failed through the centuries !

    I also found out that even real Chinese export silver pieces sometimes bear fake British marks :playful: maybe they copied them because that looks more convincing to British consumers?

    Link here :https://chinese-export-silver.com/understanding-chinese-export-silver-makers-marks/
     
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  7. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    The crest is more of a family symbol, like a Japanese Mon. Families that are not aristocratic can also have family crests. For instance, in Scotland every clan has a clan crest. The families related to or derived from a clan have crests that are derived from the original clan crest.
    Btw, no one expects you to know the ins and outs of the complicated European heraldry system. Most Europeans don't know either, I certainly don't.;)

    My own family has a family crest, but my ancestors were considered 'patricians', a typical Dutch phenomenon. Patricians were commoners who made sure the town or country was organised, without an aristocrat lining his pockets.:D Patricians had to seal documents, so they had to have a crest.
    The thistle isn't necessarily Scottish, it can appear in crests across Europe. And a London maker doesn't imply the owner lived in London. Well-to-do people commissioned silver from reputable silver makers. Those makers could live in another town. Besides, many rich people from around the UK owned town houses in London.
     
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  8. shamster

    shamster Well-Known Member

    Very cool! I hope we have something similar in China:oops: I’m fascinated with both fancy European crests and stylized Japanese mon. We only put a character(family name) on our banners, I think…
     
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  9. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Exactly! Nothing new under the sun. Advanced techniques make such things easier and faster, but the 'olds' did an excellent job.
    True. Adrien has done some amazing research btw, and is a very nice person too.

    The Chinese weren't the only ones to copy or fake marks. In Germany Hanau silver is known for its fake marks, but it has become collectible in its own right. And American silverplate also used to use marks that resembled English silver marks.
     
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  10. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Yes, they are fun and often totally crazy. Below two of my ancestral crests on seals:

    First an ancestral crest, but not one I can use. What looks like frog legs on top of a helmet are actually arms in armour holding a fourth fleur-de-lys:D

    d93ff4e3-daa9-6975-4a4b-acbf0073acc3 - kopie.jpg

    The one below is unfortunately very worn, but it goes with my own surname, so I could use it (but don't):

    Zegel Nieuwenhuis.jpg
     
  11. shamster

    shamster Well-Known Member

    well, I won’t be surprised if a ceremonial helmet with arms high up holding something really exists in reality!
     
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