Part of The Grand Glossary: A Collector's Reference. This section covers the specialist vocabulary of antique silver and gold, from the British hallmarking system and the principal assay standards to the decorative techniques of the silversmith and goldsmith, the history of Sheffield plate and electroplate, and the assessment of condition and alterations. Terms are arranged alphabetically within thematic groupings.
Hallmarks and Assay
Assay
The testing of a metal object to determine and certify the purity of the precious metal it contains. In the United Kingdom, assay is carried out by the four remaining assay offices — London (Goldsmiths’ Hall), Birmingham, Sheffield, and Edinburgh — which test submitted articles and apply the appropriate hallmarks if the metal meets the required standard. The British assay system is one of the oldest continuous systems of consumer protection in the world, with origins in the 14th century. Assay may be carried out by touchstone (rubbing the metal on a stone and comparing the streak with a standard), by cupellation (the fire assay method), or by modern spectrographic analysis.
Date Letter
One of the compulsory elements of the British hallmark, a letter of the alphabet stamped on a piece by the assay office to indicate the year of assay. Each assay office used its own alphabet, its own style of letter, and its own shield shape, cycling through the alphabet (typically omitting certain letters) on an annual basis. The date letter system allows British silver and gold to be dated precisely to the year of assay, which is typically close to — but not always the same as — the year of manufacture. Date letter tables for each assay office are published in standard references including Jackson’s Silver and Gold Marks and the Bradbury date letter tables.
Duty Mark
A mark applied to British silver and gold between 1784 and 1890, representing the head of the reigning sovereign, indicating that the excise duty on wrought plate had been paid. The duty mark is one of the elements of the full British hallmark for this period and assists in confirming the date of assay. It was introduced following the imposition of a duty on silver plate and was abolished when the duty was repealed. Its presence or absence on a piece provides a broad date range for assay.
Hallmark
The system of marks struck on precious metal objects in the United Kingdom by the assay offices to certify the metal’s purity. The full British hallmark for silver comprises the maker’s mark, the standard mark (the lion passant for sterling silver in England), the assay office mark, and the date letter. Additional marks — the duty mark, the Jubilee mark, the millennium mark, and others — have been added at various periods. Hallmarks are a fundamental tool in dating and attributing British silver and gold; their absence from a piece that purports to be British raises significant questions. The Hallmarking Act 1973 consolidated and reformed the legal framework for hallmarking in the United Kingdom.
Lion Passant
The standard mark for sterling silver in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland: a walking lion (passant guardant) struck on silver articles to certify that the metal meets the sterling standard of 925 parts per thousand silver. The lion passant has been used as the English sterling standard mark since 1544 and is one of the most recognisable symbols in the British antiques trade. Its form has changed subtly over the centuries — the lion’s head was shown full-face until 1821, then in profile — and these changes assist in dating. Scottish sterling silver uses a different standard mark (the lion rampant).
Maker’s Mark
The mark of the individual silversmith, goldsmith, or manufacturing firm responsible for making a piece, struck on the article before submission for assay. In the UK, maker’s marks consist of initials within a shaped cartouche and are registered at the assay office. The identification of maker’s marks is a specialist field; standard references include Jackson’s Silver and Gold Marks, Grimwade’s London Goldsmiths, and the published lists of provincial silversmiths. The maker’s mark is the primary indicator of the individual craftsman or firm, while the other hallmarks confirm the metal standard, date, and assay office.
Britannia Standard
A higher standard of silver purity — 958.4 parts per thousand, compared to sterling’s 925 — introduced in England by statute in 1697 and made compulsory until 1720, after which sterling was restored as the legal standard and Britannia became optional. The Britannia standard was introduced to prevent the clipping and melting of silver coinage (which was of sterling standard) for use in the manufacture of plate. Britannia standard silver is softer than sterling and is identified by its own marks: the figure of Britannia (in place of the lion passant) and the lion’s head erased (in place of the lion passant’s head). Britannia standard silver has a distinctive quality of surface and is collected in its own right.
Sterling Standard
The legal minimum purity for silver in the United Kingdom: 925 parts per thousand silver (92.5%), with the balance typically copper. The sterling standard has been the primary English silver standard since the medieval period, with the exception of the Britannia standard period (1697–1720). The word sterling may derive from the Easterling merchants of the Hanseatic League, or from a Norman coin bearing a small star. Articles below the sterling standard — including Sheffield plate, electroplate, and silver-filled wares — are not entitled to the sterling hallmark and must be marked differently.
Assay Offices and Their Marks
London (Goldsmiths’ Hall)
The oldest and most important of the British assay offices, established by royal charter in 1327. The London assay office mark is a leopard’s head (actually a lion’s head facing forward), one of the oldest marks in the British hallmarking system. Until 1975, the London leopard’s head was shown crowned; after 1975 the crown was removed. London silver spans the full history of English silversmithing and the London date letter series is the most extensively documented.
Birmingham
The Birmingham assay office was established in 1773 following a campaign led by Matthew Boulton, who argued that Birmingham’s manufacturers were disadvantaged by the requirement to send their work to London or Chester for assay. The Birmingham office mark is an anchor. Birmingham became the dominant assay office for small silverware, including vinaigrettes, card cases, snuff boxes, and a wide range of small decorative objects, due to the concentration of the toy trade (small metalwork) in the city.
Sheffield
The Sheffield assay office was established at the same time as Birmingham, in 1773. The Sheffield office mark is a crown (until 1975) and thereafter a Yorkshire rose. Sheffield was the dominant centre for the production of flatware, cutlery, and large holloware, and was closely associated with the Sheffield plate industry. The Sheffield date letter series is distinct from those of London and Birmingham.
Edinburgh
The Edinburgh assay office is the Scottish assay office, established in the 15th century. The Edinburgh office mark is a castle (three towers). Scottish silver has its own distinct traditions, makers, and forms — including the thistle mark as the Scottish standard mark — and is collected separately from English silver by many specialists.
Decorative Techniques
Bright-Cut Engraving
A form of engraving specific to silver (and occasionally gold) of the neoclassical period, particularly the 1770s to 1810s, in which the graver is worked at a scooping angle to remove small faceted cuts from the surface, producing a sparkling, highly reflective decoration. Bright-cut engraving was used for borders, swags, festoons, and floral motifs on flatware, teawares, and small objects. The clarity and crispness of the engraving, and the evenness of the faceted cuts, are indicators of quality. Bright-cut engraving wears relatively rapidly with polishing; surviving examples in sharp condition are significantly more desirable than worn or recut pieces.
Casting
The production of silver or gold components — handles, feet, finials, spouts, and sculptural elements — by pouring molten metal into a prepared mould. Cast components are typically heavier than raised equivalents and have a denser, more solid quality. In high-quality silver, cast elements are chased after casting to sharpen detail and remove casting texture. The quality of the casting and the fineness of the subsequent chasing are primary indicators of quality in grand silver of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Chasing
The working of the surface of a silver or gold object from the front with punches and hammers to create decorative relief without removing metal. Chasing is used to refine and finish repoussé work and to add surface detail to cast components. Flat chasing creates a linear pattern on the surface of the metal without raising it significantly; embossed chasing (used in combination with repoussé) creates three-dimensional relief. The quality of chasing — the precision of the punched marks, the evenness of the surface — is a primary indicator of quality in decorative silver.
Engine Turning
A mechanical engraving technique in which a regular geometric pattern — guilloché, barleycorn, wave, or sunburst — is cut into the surface of a metal object using a special lathe. Engine turning was widely used on small silver objects from the late 18th century onwards, particularly on snuff boxes, card cases, vinaigrettes, and cigarette cases, and on the metal grounds of enamelled objects. The precision and regularity of the pattern are characteristic; the depth and crispness of the cuts, and the quality of the subsequent finish, vary with quality of manufacture.
Niello
A black inlay material made from a sulphide compound of silver, copper, and lead, used to fill engraved lines and areas on silver and gold objects, creating a strong contrast between the dark inlay and the polished metal. Niello has been used in European and Near Eastern metalwork since antiquity. It was a major decorative technique in Russian silver of the 18th and 19th centuries (particularly in the work of the Tula and Moscow silversmiths), in Scandinavian and Balkan folk silver, and in Islamic metalwork. It is distinct from enamel, which is a vitreous (glassy) material.
Parcel Gilding
The selective gilding of parts of a silver object — the interior of a cup, the bowls of spoons, a decorative border — while the remainder is left as silver. Parcel gilding was used both decoratively and practically: the gilded interior of a salt cellar or mustard pot protected the silver from corrosion by salt and acid. In fire gilding (mercury gilding), an amalgam of gold and mercury was applied to the silver surface and the mercury driven off by heating; the remaining gold was burnished to a rich, warm finish. Electrogilding, using electrical deposition of gold, replaced fire gilding from the mid-19th century.
Repoussé
A silversmithing technique in which a design is pushed out in relief from the reverse of a sheet of silver using punches and hammers, with the metal supported on a resilient bed of pitch. Repoussé produces bold, three-dimensional relief and was used for the decoration of cups, ewers, dishes, and presentation plate. It was a defining technique of Baroque silver, used with great virtuosity by silversmiths including Paul de Lamerie and Paul Storr. High-quality repoussé work is finished on the front by fine chasing.
Sheffield Plate and Electroplate
Sheffield Plate
A material produced by fusing a thin sheet of silver onto one or both sides of a thicker sheet of copper, then rolling the composite sheet to the required thickness and working it by the same techniques used for solid silver. Sheffield plate was developed by Thomas Bolsover of Sheffield around 1742 and was produced in large quantities until it was superseded by electroplate in the 1840s and 1850s. Sheffield plate is collected in its own right and should be distinguished from electroplate: Sheffield plate is a mechanical fusing of silver to copper; electroplate is a chemical deposition of silver onto a base metal. The copper core of Sheffield plate is visible at cut edges unless they have been protected by a silver wire or a filled border.
Electroplate (EPNS, EPBM)
Silver deposited onto a base metal object (typically britannia metal or nickel silver) by electrolysis, in which the object is immersed in a silver salt solution and an electric current causes silver ions to deposit on its surface. The process was developed commercially in the 1840s by Elkington and Company of Birmingham. Electroplate is marked with abbreviations indicating the base metal: EPNS (electroplated nickel silver), EPBM (electroplated britannia metal), EPWM (electroplated white metal). The thickness of the silver deposit and its adhesion to the base metal vary with quality; plating wears through with use at the high points of a design, revealing the base metal beneath.
Old Sheffield Plate Marks
Marks applied to Sheffield plate from 1784 onwards, resembling silver hallmarks but legally distinct from them. Sheffield plate makers were permitted to register marks with the Sheffield assay office, and these marks — typically the maker’s initials or name, sometimes with a crown — are documented in standard references. The marks on Sheffield plate should not be confused with silver hallmarks. Pieces described simply as ‘plated’ in earlier sale catalogues may be either Sheffield plate or electroplate; the distinction is important and requires examination.
Principal Forms and Object Types
Flatware
The collective term for spoons, forks, knives, and serving implements, as distinct from holloware (vessels and hollow objects). British silver flatware patterns — fiddle, king’s, queen’s, Albany, rat-tail, and many others — have been documented and catalogued extensively. The completeness of a service, the consistency of the maker’s marks and date letters across a set, and the condition of the gilding (if present) are the primary assessment criteria.
Holloware
The collective term for hollow silver objects — teapots, coffee pots, jugs, bowls, salvers, tureens, and similar vessels — as distinct from flatware. The weight and quality of construction, the condition of the surface, the integrity of the marks, and the presence or absence of later alterations (armorial erasing and re-engraving, later applied decoration, replacement spouts or handles) are the primary assessment criteria.
Vinaigrette
A small silver box, typically of pocket size, containing a sponge soaked in aromatic vinegar or smelling salts, with a pierced inner grille to allow the scent to be inhaled. Vinaigrettes were made in large quantities in Birmingham from the late 18th century until the mid-Victorian period and form one of the most popular collecting categories in small silver. They were made in a wide range of forms — rectangular, book-shaped, floral, and pictorial — and decorated with engine turning, bright-cut engraving, applied cast ornament, and enamelling. The quality of the pierced inner grille and the condition of the hinge are important assessment criteria.
Condition and Assessment
Armorial Engraving
The engraving of a coat of arms, crest, or cypher on a silver object to indicate ownership. Armorial engraving is a desirable feature on 17th and 18th-century silver, adding historical interest and provenance, provided the armorial has not been removed or replaced. Later engraving of spurious arms on undecorated pieces is a known practice; the age of the engraving relative to the piece should be assessed. The removal of an original armorial — typically by hammering out from the back and planishing — thins the metal at that point and may be visible as a slightly sunken or polished area.
Condition (Silver)
The condition of silver is assessed across several dimensions: the integrity and legibility of the hallmarks; the quality and crispness of any decorative work; the absence of splits, holes, solder repairs, and replacements; the evenness and colour of the surface; and the presence or absence of later alterations. Silver that has been heavily polished over many years loses surface detail and develops a blurred, over-bright appearance; unpolished silver with a natural, even patina is increasingly preferred by collectors and museums. The weight of a piece relative to its apparent size is a check on the integrity of the metal.
Later Alterations
Modifications made to silver after its original manufacture, whether to update its style, repair damage, or increase its apparent value. Common alterations include the addition of later applied decoration (chased ornament added in a later taste to plain Georgian silver), the replacement of handles, spouts, or finials, the conversion of one object type to another (a coffee pot converted to a hot water jug by the addition of an ivory handle), and the erasing and re-engraving of armorials. All significant alterations should be disclosed and are reflected in value. The detection of later alterations requires examination of the marks, the construction, the surface, and the solder lines.
Weight
The weight of silver objects is recorded in troy ounces (and pennyweights) in the British trade, or in grams. The weight of a piece relative to its apparent size and construction is a check on integrity — a piece that is lighter than expected may have been thinned by over-polishing, may have a filled base, or may have lost metal to corrosion. Flatware weight is a primary indicator of quality: heavier flatware, with thicker gauge metal, is more durable and more desirable. The weight of a silver service is also a factor in its insurance valuation.
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