Review - Woolley and Wallis Early Spoons & Silver Sale.
29th April 2003

By: Tim Kent F.S.A.


This monster two-day sale comprised in total 1,108 lots, and if my calculation is correct, one minute devoted to each item would involve just under 18.5 hours of viewing time! Of course one could not do this but in my case had to concentrate on the more attractive items included on the first day, when spoons were on offer. The two days could I think, be rated an overall success, with most lots selling, subject to the present-day trend which has become increasingly apparent; high prices for collector's items and anything of above-average quality, but a pretty flat scenario for the rest. I can do no more than comment on the following lots, which gained my interest and approval - this is not to write off anything I do not mention: (all prices are hammer prices).

Lot 3, An interesting little gold spoon, probably late 18th century, I think probably not a snuff spoon but an apothecary's spoon for handling minute quantise of medical matter. An item of charm for £210.
Lot 11, A good condition full set of 12 bright-cut table spoons, rare in this excellent state, £740 was a strong price, but it would be hard to find a better set of this date (1774).
Lot 34, I liked this rare set of 6 late 17th century trefid teaspoons in good condition, each initialled 'EM' and bearing a maker's mark possibly 'BI' or 'BL' (struck on stem and partially visible). A good punt at £900.
Lots 86, 87 & 88, were three interesting Apostle spoons, St. James the Less, St. James the Greater (this from the Breadalbane Collection) and St. Matthew, but the castings were not, I felt, of the best quality, and prices of £3100, £3000 and £2800 were on the health side.
The Scottish provincial Lots, 93-107, all seemed to sell satisfactorily, and the £1250 paid for a pair of Wick sugar tongs (Lot 101) was startling - I wonder if hey were the same pair I once rejected as too expensive at £55!
Lot 115, A dognose circa 1710, maker's mark 'PP', was an interesting buy at £360.
Lot 116, a trefid ascribed to Edward Lewis of Liverpool, struck with maker's mark and the Liver Bird, was also interesting at £540.
Lot 120, a child's trefid by John Arden of Crewkerne, pricked 1696, had charm and made £600.
Lots 131, 132 & 133 were three more Apostle spoons, St. Andrew, St. Bartholomew, and St. Simon Zelotes, all of 17th century date and reasonable, though not outstanding at £3600, £3300 and £1000.
Lot 139, was an interesting West Country Lion Sejant, Taunton circa 1600 by Robert Wade Senior (not Junior as the catalogue suggests), a much less common maker than his son, and a worthwhile acquisition at £2000.
Lots 164-168, the 17th Puritans and Slip-tops (one Elizabethan), were not very attractive in terms of condition, but all seemed to sell satisfactorily.
Lot 172 was one of the best spoons in the sale, a Norwich trefid of 1697 by Elizabeth Hazlewood, with documentary marks, and these assets led to a price of £4200, which did not surprise me at all.
Lot 189, an Exeter Hanoverian tablespoon of 1720 by John Elston Senior was also attractive for its documentary marks. Someone said to me "its' only a tablespoon" when I ventured a figure, but these were being given as wedding presents as late as the 1730's, and £360 did not surprise me.
Lot 219 intrigued me, a laceback in crisp condition dated 1682 and struck in Exeter dies (noted by me on another example dated 1683 and bearing an Exeter town mark struck twice). The 'R' mark may be that of the successful merchant goldsmith Jasper Radcliffe II, and I thought this to be one of the best buys at £360.
Lot 265 was a worthy Elizabethan seal top of 1580, justifying a price of £1500.
Lot 267 was a baluster knop of 1560 (Francis Jackson), a rare type which despite later crest and gilding made £3300. Without these disadvantages I would have expected considerable more.
Lot 271, the Roman spoon had charm and found a ready buyer at £1050.
Lot 279, a West Country Apostle, St. Peter, with disc nimbus so typical of the area, dateable to circa 1620 and struck in the bowl with local leopard's head or 'bucranium', was an interesting buy at £920, as the mark may well pertain to Bristol, in which case it would be worth much more.
Lot 296, a fully marked Chester Hanoverian tablespoon, 1716 by Richard Richardson I, fell into the category as the Exeter spoon lot 189, though more so as it finished at £660.
Lot 312 was, I thought, the second-best Apostle in the sale, St. Jude by the prominent spoonmaker 'TP' (not 'TH' as per catalogue) who may be Thomas Paulson. In good condition and with a nice colour, it was not expensive at £3100. Its flanking Lots 311 (St. Paul, 1646, Steven Venables), and 313 (St. Peter 1639) did notattract me so much at £3100 and £2700, the latter appearing to have been later gilded.
Lot 334 was interesting, as the Salisbury "Group B" seal underlined my ascription of the 'turreted Castle' bowl mark to Thomas Senior of Salisbury. A light bowl, but of good colour, at £800 it was a fair buy.
Lot 337, St. Andrew by William Corsley of Gloucester (1638-1691) had obviously been broken at the junction of bowl and stem, but excellent stem marks and good finial made it worthwhile buy at £500.
Lot 365, a rare pair of late 17th century trefids ascribed to Thomas Hutchinson of Great Yarmouth, intrigued me as I once owned the full set of three (formly Lot 82 in Ellis catalogue), and only sold them to fund another purchase. Interesting, and £3500 a good price.
Lot 366 was, I thought, the best Apostle and I gave it high marks on all counts. A well above-average finial (St. Thomas) it came from that prolific worhshop that used as its mark a crescent enclosing a mullet (see "London Silver Spoonmakers" pp7,8 for a discussion of the mark). It deservedly ran up to £4200, as I expected. A good spoon.
Lot 369, a typical Exeter casting (St. Jude) of the period (pricked 1662) it dates from late in Edward Anthony's career and unusually bears his mark in the bowl instead of the town mark. With a good patination, this works example of its type ended up at £2400.
Lot 375 was a Henry VIII Apostle (St. Paul) of 1534 by the prolific William Simpson (see again "London Silver Spoonmakers" pp9-10 for a full discussion of him). A spoon of this early date is always desirable but I did not greatly like the surface colour of this specimen: However this reservation did not prevent it reaching a top-estimate figure of £8000.

86,87,88113,114,115,116,117118
LotAchieved£
86.A Charles I apostle spoon; St James the less, the figure with gilding, a sacred dove nimbus and the fullers bat on a tapering stem, incised on the back "Breadalbane", by Thomas Hodges, London 1640,7. 4in (18.7cm) long. Marks: fully marked, for makers mark see Kent London silver spoon makers detail No 52, [left hand mark]. Provenance: Ex Marquis of Breadalbane's Collection, 1.75oz. £2400-2800.3100
87.A James I apostle spoon of good gauge; St James the greater, with a sacred dove nimbus, the bowl curved, with a faintly gilt interior, maker's mark crossed clubs in saltire, London 1610, 7in (17.7cm) long Marks fully marked, for maker's mark see Jackson's Revised p108, 2oz. £2500-3000.3000
88.A Commonwealth apostle spoon; St Matthew, the figure with traces of gilding, a sacred dove nimbus and a money bag or wallet on a straight-sided stem, scratched with the initials "S" over "RB" on the back of the bowl, by Jeremy Johnson, London 1656, 7.25in (185cm) long . Marks: fully marked, 1.8oz. £2500-28002800
89.A set of six William IV ascribed North Country provincial dessert spoons, fiddle pattern, engraved with a crest and initialled 'B', by Messrs Barber, Cattles & North, York 1833. Marks: fully marked except for town mark, 9250z. £200-250230
93.A George IV unascribed Scottish provincial soup ladle, Old English pattern, possibly by Alexander Cameron, Dundee c. 1825. Marks A C, thistle, device, thistle, device, 6oz. £150-200.140
94A rare George III Scottish provincial soup ladle, Old English pattern initialled, by Alexander Stewart, Inverness, c 1800 Marks: AS, INS, DEVICE, 7.250z. £500-600400
95.South African:- A rare late 18th century tablespoon, with a large drop, initialled, by Johan Hendrik Vos, Cape 1770-90, together with an unascribed tablespoon, possibly Cape. Marks: I C [twice], a device [twice], 3.50z. £130-160.140

939495
969697
9899100
101102103
104105106
107

96.Eight assorted pairs of sugar tongs, (including one pair by Hester Bateman, Irish, Scottish and provincial examples) mixed makers and dates, 11 oz. £150-200.360
97.A set of ten 19th century unascribed fiddle pattern table forks, crested by an unascribed maker "I.G" probably colonial 2nd third of the 19th century. Marks: maker's mark only [struck thrice], 17oz. £100-150.120
98.A set of seven unascribed fiddle table forks, initialled "G", probably colonial, 1st half of the 19th century. Marks: J S, six pointed star, bird? device, crescent, "0", 130z. £80-100.160
99.A George III Irish provincial bright-cut dessert spoon, initialled 'T B' by Carden Terry, Cork, c.1790 Marks CT, Sterling. 1oz. £120-150.140
100.A pair of early 19th century Spanish tablespoons, initialled by M Diaz, Cadiz 1825, 3.5oz. £50-60.50
101.A scarce pair of George IV Scottish provincial fiddle pattern sugar tongs, with leaf decorated bowls by John Sellar, Wick c. 1825, Marks JS, WICK [twice]. 1oz. £400-500.1250
102.A George III Scottish provincial tablespoon, with a pointed end, initialled "R", by James Douglas, Dundee, c 1800. Marks: "I D" and a crowned device [thrice]. 2oz. £100-120.130
103.A pair of George III Irish provincial bright-cut sugar tongs, initialled 'G L' by John Nicholson, Cork, c. 1790 Marks: I N [script], Sterling. 1.25oz. £180-200.260
104.A set of six Geo. III/IV Scottish provincial, fiddle teaspoons, initialled and individually numbered '7-12", by Robert Naughton, Inverness c. 1820 Marks: RN, cornucopia, thistle, 3.5oz. £220-260.250
105.A rare Victorian Scottish provincial fiddle pattern tablespoon, by an unascribed maker. possibly William McGregor Michael, Greenock, c 1890. Marks W.Mc.M, anchor, green oak, anchor, green oak. 1.9oz. £100-120.90
106.A rare George III Scottish provincial fiddle pattern tablespoon, initialled and crested below the motto 'I am ready', by John Heron, Greenock 1800-20 Marks: I H, anchor, ship, C, Green oak. 2.25oz. £100-150.70
107.A rare George III Scottish provincial fiddle pattern tablespoon, initialled and crested below the motto 'I am ready', by John Heron, Greenock 1800-20 Marks: I H, anchor, ship, C, Green oak. 2.250z. £100-150.180
113.A George I unascribed provincial Hanoverian pattern tablespoon, with a plain rattail and scratched initials 'MH' by an unascribed maker prob. North Country, c.1720. Marks: maker's mark R H struck three times. See Jackson's revised pp 519, 6th item down for a very similar mark, 1.20z. £100-150.160
114.An extremely rare Charles II ascribed North Country trefid spoon, with a slender stem scratched 'L' over 'I L' on the back of the terminal, by Edward Mangy, Hull, c 1670, 7.75in (196cm). Marks: town mark twice, maker's mark once, 1.40z. £200-300.340
115.A Queen Anne/George I unascribed provincial wavy end spoon, with a bead and reeded rattail scratched with the initials 'P p', c 1710-20, 17.75in (19.6cm). Marks: maker's mark 'P P' with mullets in a shield with a perforated border struck thrice, 1 50z. *It is interesting to speculate that the maker and owner could have been one and the same and that perhaps this could be a mark yet hitherto unascribed to Peter Pemberton of Chester. £250-300.360
116.An extremely rare Charles II ascribed North Country trefid spoon, with a ribbed rattail, scratched 'R. D' on the back of the terminal, by Edward Lewis, Liverpool, c. 1680, 7.3in (18.6cm) long. Marks: Bird, E L, Bird, E L (see Jackson's Revised pp415), 1.50z. £500-700.540
117.A George II fancy back tablespoon, with a fluted shell below the drop, script initials, by Edward Bennett London 1736. Marks: fully marked, 2.250z *It would appear that the earliest extant example of a shell back, London made, tablespoon is 1735 (see Phillips catalogue of Jan 19, 1979) so this spoon is a very early example of it's type. £100-130.180
118.An interesting set of seven Queen Anne unascribed wavy end or dognose tablespoons, with plain moulded rattails, each scratched "J S F, 1705" on the backs of the terminals and two of them additional scratched with the scratch weight "23.0-15d" unascribed possibly Scottish provincial, c. 1705, approximately 7.25 - 7.5in (18.3 - 19cm) long. Marks: mostly worn but one clearly "G L" mark and remnants of a script monogram mark, perhaps "D D" See Jackson's Revised pp 594 and compare with the marks of David Dunlop, of Canongate, 10.250z. £300-400.460
119.A George III Scottish Hanoverian pattern tablespoon, initialled "B", by Adam Graham, Glasgow 1770-1780. Marks: town mark, "AG" town mark, "AG", 20z £60-80.65
120.A William III ascribed West Country trefid spoon of intermediate size (perhaps for a child), with a ribbed rattail, pricked I.B" over "1696" on the back of the terminal, by John Arden of Fordington & Crewkerne, c 1696,61 in (5.5cm) long Marks: maker's mark only, struck once on the back of the stem. 0.7oz. £600-650.600
121.A late 17th century engraved marrow spoon, scratched 'T C" on the back of the bowl, unascribed, c. 1700. Marks: none. 0.750z. £200-250.240
122.A George III marrow scoop, crested, possibly by James Jones, (maker's mark "J.J" script) London 1771, 84in (21.1 cm) long, 1.50z. £120-150.180
123.A George II marrow scoop, by Thomas Gilpin, London, c. 1740, 9in (23cm) long. Marks: maker's mark only struck twice, 1.250z. £100-120.140
124.An early George II Hanoverian tablespoon with a double drop bowl, inscribed "Barnards Inn" on the back of the stem, by Edward Jennings, London 1830. Marks: fully marked, 2oz. £150-200.190
125.A Victorian engraved caddy spoon, with a fiddle stem, initialled, and a circular bowl with a petal-shaped outline, by Henry Holland, London 1850. £80-100.260
126.A small late 17th century engraved trefid spoon, with a ribbed rattail, no maker's mark visible, stamped '13' probably Austro/Hungarian, c. 1690. 13.2cm long, 0.70z. £100-150.100
127.A Queen Anne wavy end or dognose tablespoon, with a plain moulded rattail, initialled "S B", by William Scarlett, London c.1712, 7.75in (19.5cm) long. Marks: fully marked, date letter worn, 1.40z £100-120.100
128.An early 20th century American cast spoon, with a hexagonal bowl and a canted oblong terminal decorated in relief with a fully rigged galleon, a dolphin mask and palmettes, stamped Tiffany & Co, maker's cast sterling silver' c. 1910,4 75in (12cm), 2oz. £100-120.N/S
129A George III provincial caddy spoon, with a fluted, scallop-shell bowl and a fluted, hook-end stem by H. Tudor & T. Leader, Sheffield 1791, 3.25" (8.2cm) long. £100-120.160
A George III marrow scoop, with a single drop bowl, crested, by John Bourne, London 1794, 9in (23cm) long, 1.250z £80-120.130
131.An early James I apostle spoon; St Andrew, the gilt figure with a pierced, spoked nimbus, on a straight sided stem, by William Cawdell (crescent enclosing 'W', London 1604. 7.2in (182cm) long. Marks fully marked. 1 6oz. £1500-2000.3600
132.A Charles I silver gilt apostle spoon; St Bartholomew, with a sacred dove nimbus and flaying knife, the back of the bowl scratched "H" over "0 E", by William Cary, London 1641, 7.1in (18.1cm) long. Marks fully marked, 1.75oz. £2500-3000.3300
133.A Commonwealth unascribed provincial apostle spoon; St Simon Zelotes, the figure gilt with a sacred dove nimbus on a straight sided stem, the bowl pricked "1652" over "IS" over "FS" on the reverse, unascribed probably West Country c. 1650, 7.7in (19.5cm) long. Marks an incuse barbed cinquefoil struck once in the bowl and twice on the back of the stem, 1.50z. £1200-1400.1000
137.A rare William & Mary ascribed South Western provincial lace back trefid spoon, with visible "guide lines", pricked 'W M' over '1693' over 'D M', by Samuel Dell, Taunton, c. 1693, 7.5in (19cm). Marks: maker's mark struck twice, 1.5oz. £600-800.580
138.A rare Charles I ascribed South Western provincial apostle spoon; St Bartholomew, the gilt figure with a plain nimbus pricked 'W Y' the back of the bowl pricked '1634 R E', by Robert Wade Jnr, Taunton, c 1630, 7.25in (18.3cm) Marks: maker's mark struck four times, 1.702. £1500-2000.1650
139.A rare Elizabeth I ascribed South Western provincial lion sejant spoon, the gilt terminal finely detailed with his tail curled around his trunk, by Robert Wade Jnr, Taunton, c. 1600, 665in (16.7cm). Marks: maker's mark struck four times, 1.25oz. £1200-1500.2000
140.A William & Mary ascribed South Western provincial laceback trefid spoon, pricked 'I B' over '1693' over 'E T' and later initialled 'M', by Richard Hamlin, Taunton, c. 1690, 775in (19.5cm) Marks: maker's mark struck twice See Kent West Country Spoons pp 96 and M61, 1.50z. £400-600.320
141.A rare Charles I ascribed South Western provincial seal top spoon, with a large gilt terminal pricked 'N L' over 'N L' and an indistinct date, the bowl small and rounded, by Robert Wade Jnr Taunton, c. 1635. 165cm. Marks: maker's mark struck four times, 1.5oz. £800-1200.1250
142A scarce Charles I ascribed South Western provincial slip top spoon, with a double tapering stem and a rudimentary 'V' rattail by Robert Wade Jnr, Taunton c 1640, 6.25in (15.9cm). Marks: maker's mark struck four times, 1oz. £1000-1500.920

Continued overleaf....

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The Finial, June/July 2003


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