Queen Anne Britannia Silver Coffee Pot with Pilkington Crest
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A Queen Anne Britannia silver coffee pot, by Nathaniel lock, London, circa 1705, of typical tapering form, profusely embossed and chased with flowers, scrolls, and leaves, and a mask to the base of the spout. Bearing the London lion head city mark and maker's mark to the lid, date mark to the upper body, two unidentified hallmarks to the spout, possibly import marks, engraved with the Pilkington family crest. 637gms Britannia silver (including handle), 23 cm high, other notes: it is said that a Pilkington who fought under King Harold at the battle of Hastings in 1066AD, afterwards escaped under the disguise of a thresher, hence the crest's thresher emblem. The Pilkington lineage is the family of Lancashire ? the Rivington division. The most notable of the Pilkingtons of Rivington was James Pilkington who became the first Protestant Bishop of Durham from 1561 until his death in 1576.
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- Engraving - The method of decorating or creating inscriptions on silver and other metal objects by marking the surface with a sharp instrument such as a diamond point or rotating cutting wheel.
- Hallmarks - A mark stamped on articles of precious metals in Britain, since the 14th century, certifying their purity. It derives its name from the Guild Hall of the Goldsmiths' Company, who recieved its Charter in 1327 giving it the power to assay (test the purity) and mark articles of gold and silver.
The hallmark will consist of several marks, including the:
- silver standard mark, indicating the purity of the metal. Sterling silver is .925 pure silver.
- the city mark indicating the city in which it was assayed eg London, Birmingham, York etc.
- the date mark, usually a letter of the alphabet in a particular font and case,
- a duty mark, indicating whether duty had been paid to the crown, and only in use from 1784 to 1890
The piece may include an additional mark, the maker's mark, although not forming part of the hallmark, will be located in the vicinity of the hallmarks.
Sometimes silver plated items will bear faux hallmarks, often confusing those not familiar with silver markings. - Circa - A Latin term meaning 'about', often used in the antique trade to give an approximate date for the piece, usually considered to be five years on either side of the circa year. Thus, circa 1900 means the piece was made about 1900, probably between 1895 and 1905. The expression is sometimes abbreviated to c.1900.
- Embossed / Repousse - Embossing, also known as repousse, is the technique of decorating metal with raised designs, by pressing or beating out the design from the reverse side of the object.It is the opposite of chasing, where the decoration is applied from the front. An embossed or repoussed object may have chasing applied to finish off the design.
- Chasing - The method of decorating gold and silver objects using a punch and hammer so that the design appears in relief. Flat or surface chasing is done from the front giving the item definition, but not cutting into the metal.
Chasing is the opposite technique to repousse, but an object that has repousse work, may then have chasing applied to create a finished piece.
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