Old Friends  
3565f   $145.00

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One of William B. Durgin's earliest patterns, dating circa 1865, and not formally named but commonly called "Spray, this design features a bouquet of woodland flowers and grasses tied by a bow.

This motif appears in the top center of the handle, and is repeated on the lower front at the join with the blade and on the backside heel.

This example is a 9" long, 2.1 T. oz., pie or pastry server. The pointed blade measures 4 1/2" long, 2 3/4" at the widest, and has a cupped heel and flange... Click for details

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2338   $475.00

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diameter 6; height 2 3/8 inches, weight 8.42 Troy ounces, no monogram, some light scratches to interior (see second enlargement) but fine overall condition, maker Herman Glendenning.

Not a common form, this five lobed bowl is deceptively simple but devilishly difficult to make. Each section would have been "set in pitch" and hammered, keeping the line straight but gently increasing in height as it approached the rim. Then five pieces of molding were applied over the edge and soldered... Click for details

Old Friends  
3564f   $85.00

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A relatively large item, this piece measures 4 1/2" wide and stands 3" tall.

It is a dresser jar made c. 1900 by Newark, New Jersey's William B. Kerr & Co., whose "mace" emblem, "Sterling," and model number "7200-4" are stamped on the edge of the silver lid, which by itself weighs nearly 2.1 T. oz.

The bulbous glass base is panel cut with a star pattern on the underside.

The lid is relatively plain, with a rimmed and scalloped edge and a line script "EP" monogram in the center.

In... Click for details

Old Friends  
3563f   $52.00

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A full size teaspoon measuring 6" long and weighing a substantial 1.0 T. oz., this piece was made by Dominick & Haff and retailed by Baltimore's Hennegen, Bates & Co., as indicated on the reverse along with the word "Sterling."

A highly collectible item, it is one of those items by which the whole notion of souvenir spoons is defined.

Celebrating Baltimore and its location on the Cheasapeake Bay, it features a die struck representation of the "North Point" monument in the bowl, as well as... Click for details

Old Friends  
3562f   $120.00

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The William B. Durgin Company, which produced such renowned patterns as "New Art," "Dauphin," and others, offered a line of tea caddy spoons all of which utilized a single bowl form shaped like a sawtooth edge, tea leaf, companioned with various handle designs.

This 5 7/8" long, .8 T. oz., example is a naturalistic form, portraying a twisting vine that turns back on itself to form a looped handle. The surface is textured, lending it a fully authentic look.

This form was made in at least... Click for details

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2337   $350.00

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height 7 1/8 inches, weight 5.52 Troy ounces, fine condition, monogrammed as shown in third enlargement.

This mark is commonly given to Saunders Pitman, but we are not so certain that it is his. For example, though the Met attributes a cream jug in their collection (accession number 33.120.311) to Saunders, some might consider this attribution to be problematic, since he'd been dead for a good solid forty years when it was made.

Other reasonable possibilities would include John K.... Click for details

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2336   $7,500.00

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twelve by twenty-three inches, weight 56 Troy ounces, hand hammered and repoussé chased with flowers, foliage and Art Nouveau embellishments, marked as shown in fifth enlargement.

Frequent guests of our little web page know that we don't list many Martelé items. Over the years, their high silver content often leads to softening of detail, sometimes to the point of unpleasantness, and we are fussy about the condition of our objects. This one needs no such apologies, as you may run your... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20180711-01   $95.00

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Offered is a good English Georgian sterling silver fish slice or fish server, by London silversmith Robert Rutland and bearing his maker's mark as well as full hallmarks for London, 1826. Rutland lived only to the age of 42, dying in 1828. This piece is nicely pierced and has a very finely engraved period script monogram of WMH. It measures about 13 inches in length and weighs about 153 grams. Condition is good overall, with signs of normal usage but no big dings and no splits or repairs. ... Click for details

Old Friends  
3561f   $28.00

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Long lived, Nathaniel Munroe was born in Concord, Massachusetts in 1777 and died in Baltimore in 1861, where he began working in 1815, and may have worked in Selma, Alabama, 1842-50 (source Maryland Silver, Baltimore Museum of Art).

This example of his production is a single, 6" long, not quite .5 T. oz., teaspoon, marked "N. Munroe," "10.15" for the Baltimore standard roughly equivalent to coin silver, and a "star," which may be a journeyman's mark.

It has a plain end with a... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20180708-01   Sold

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Offered is a lovely example of the work of important Philadelphia silversmith Harvey Lewis, who is one of the pantheon of major silversmiths in American history. This teaspoon, dating by style to about 1810-15 give or take half a decade, is distinguished by its rare mark, which was mentioned but not photographed for Catherine Hollan's "Philadelphia Silversmiths". In the several decades I've been involved with antique silver, this is the only example of this mark that I've come across, despite... Click for details

Old Friends  
3560f   On Hold

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A Renaissance Revival design dating from 1875, Whiting's "Arabesque" is most notable for the prominent griffin or winged lion combined with eagle figure placed sideways on the handle, all set against a characteristic Moorish background.

This example is a 6 3/4" long, approximately 1.8 T. oz., gravy ladle with a 2 1/2" by 2 1/8" by 3/4" deep, oval bowl.

The handle has an Old English "L" monogram set in the reserve area.

In very good condition, it retains clear pattern detail, showing... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20180707-01   $65.00

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Offered is a lovely pair of American coin silver master salt spoons or shovels by noted New York City silversmith William Adams (b. 1802 - d. 1861), an important and successful maker who received the commission for the Mace of the U.S. House of Representatives. Adams was listed in NYC directories between 1829 and 1862 (the latter being based on 1861 information). It is likely these particular spoons are from the first half of Adams' career. They measure about 3 3/8 inches in length each, and... Click for details

Old Friends  
3559f   $45.00

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This 5 3/4" long, approximately .8 T. oz., teaspoon is an example of a line pattern appropriated as a souvenir piece.

The pattern is Whiting's 1880 "Berry," a multi-motif design that in this instance features blueberries. It is marked with the Whiting "lion" logo, "Sterling," and the name of the retailer, Boston's "A. Stowell & Co."

The bowl is acid etched in a design that features a large tree, no doubt Connecticut's famed "Charter Oak," and the word "Hartford," for the capital city of... Click for details

Old Friends  
3558f   $65.00

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A full figure nude in the manner of "Bacchante," a design that offended the sensibilities of turn of the 20th century Bostonians, Watson's companion "Phoebe" (1895) likewise expresses the freedoms of style and subject found in the Art Nouveau mode.

The figure is surrounded by considerable imagery including wheat, a grape cluster, a shell, and clouds, this last details perhaps derivative of her mythological identity as a Titan associated with light.

This 5 3/4" long, just over .8 T. oz.,... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20180706-05   Sold

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Offered is a nicely engraved Finnish silver beaker dating to the 18th Century, during the period in which Finland was under Swedish rule. This piece bears the maker's mark of Olof Källgren, working in Kristinestad circa 1766 to 1787. This piece dates to 1767 per the marks to the foot; a nearly identical piece of the same date but with a different set of owner's initials was sold at auction recently by an auction house in Sweden (Bukowski's). During this period, Finland was under Swedish... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20180706-04   Sold

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Offered is a very interesting American coin silver table fork by Taylor & Hinsdale of New York, and bearing the mark of that firm as well as manufacturer's marks made to resemble English marks, albeit only vaguely. This piece perhaps was made to match an English set, though, given the form and weight - it measures about 8 inches in length and weighs about 63 grams. The armorial on this piece is period and is fascinating - it is of a rather wild-eyed priest holding a cross in one hand and a... Click for details