S. Kirk & Son Sterling Silver Flatware Set
You must be a subscriber, and be logged in to view price and dealer details.
Subscribe Now to view actual auction price for this item
When you subscribe, you have the option of setting the currency in which to display prices to $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.
- Sterling Silver - Sterling silver is a mixture of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% of another metal, usually copper. Fine silver is 99.9% pure silver, and is relatively soft and the addition of the very small amount of copper gives the metal enough strength and hardness to be worked into jewellery, decorative and household objects.
- 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.
- Flatware - An alternative name for items of cutlery, principally knives, forks and spoons, now generally used to describe sets of these implements. Nowadays it is mostly used when describing cutlery made of silver and silver plate.
It is less frequently used to describe all "flat' items of tableware, so that as well as cutlery the definition includes plates.
This item has been included into following indexes:
Visually similar items
A 157 piece Dutch silver cutlery service with accessories, 1932 with mark of fineness, tax mark and other, comprising: 11 dinner knives, 9 entree knives, twelve each of dinner and entree forks, soup spoons, fish knives and forks, dessert spoons, pate knive
Two pairs of sugar tongs: Georgian sterling silver and German .800, 1811 London with maker's mark for Thomas Barker, and post 1886 Germany, a fiddle pattern pair and the German pair with fanned ribs in the manner of Onslow design, gilt washed to the interi
Sterling silver cutlery service, marks of various makers, London, shell pattern, comprising twelve entree forks, twelve entree knives, twelve table forks, twelve table knives, twelve table spoons, twelve dessert spoons, and twelve tea spoons, hallmarked (8
Sigvaard Bernadotte for Georg Jensen, sterling silver flatware service, post 1945 marks, Bernadotte' pattern, setting for twelve, comprising twelve fish forks, twelve fish knives, twelve table spoons, twelve table forks, twelve table knives, twelve tea spo