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tlineopen  American Silver before sterling
tline3open  Orange strainer

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Author Topic:   Orange strainer
ahwt

Posts: 2334
Registered: Mar 2003

iconnumber posted 07-06-2014 01:09 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for ahwt     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote




I found this orange strainer at an estate sale. The owner said she had purchased the strainer in the 1970s and kept the original description tag. The retailer at that time described it has a strainer from London made in 1730. I don't know how they came up with these attributions since it is not marked with a standard mark, city mark or a date mark. Since it did not have any of these markings I thought that it could have been made in the U. S.

It is a standard strainer with a simple yet decorative pattern of holes for the liquid to flow through. It does not have a hook on the rim, but does have a handle of the type often found on strainers.

It has two marks on the bottom – one looks like a maker’s mark that is worn and unfortunately is positioned over one of the holes and the other is really too worn to read. The first letter in the maker’s mark could be a B, D or R and the last letter could be the letter L. The other mark may have been a symbol rather than a letter – perhaps a leaf.

Richard Lang of Salem, Mass. is one possibility; however I have not found any reference to indicate that he added an additional mark (such as a leaf) to his wares. The top of the L has an extension going toward the R much as shown in Patricia Kane’s book. Also she notes that Richard Lang was known to have made a porringer so Lang did make hollowware.

Any ideas as to its maker or origin would be appreciated?

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ahwt

Posts: 2334
Registered: Mar 2003

iconnumber posted 07-06-2014 01:17 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for ahwt     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I should have said that pictures 3 and 4 are of the same maker's mark - just from a different position.

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swarter
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Posts: 2920
Registered: May 2003

iconnumber posted 07-06-2014 06:13 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for swarter     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
A possible origin of the London reference may have come from a table like this one (also in Jackson III), in which the "Leopard's Head" crown shown from 1829-1839 has a level top with five small points, rather than the usual three high ones separated by a low one. The last photo of yours inverted (your "leaf") could have be thought to resemble this. Not all tables show this crown form, but if the attributor referred to one like this, it could have been the inspiration for the attribution. Just a guess.

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ahwt

Posts: 2334
Registered: Mar 2003

iconnumber posted 07-07-2014 12:08 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for ahwt     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks Swarter that may be the answer. My understanding is that this dealer sold only silver from England and this piece may have been just one more piece that they procured there.
It was fun seeing an old price tag with a description. I tend to keep things a long time, but the lady selling this item was better than me as she had many of the original tags from items brought in the 1970s.

[This message has been edited by ahwt (edited 07-07-2014).]

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agphile

Posts: 798
Registered: Apr 2008

iconnumber posted 07-07-2014 04:34 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for agphile     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
As far as I know London made strainers are usually fully marked but I suppose some may have been treated like smaller items (e.g. teaspoons) and have just the lion passant alongside the maker’s mark. If I could persuade myself that the second mark is a very worn lion passant, I might try to reclaim a London origin for the strainer, but I don’t think I can. I’m afraid I don’t recognise the maker so, assuming the strainer surfaced in England, I would probably label it as “provincial or colonial” which is not particularly helpful.

However, it is an attractive item. And in many ways I think there can be more interest in a piece that offers a bit of a challenge rather than one where there is nothing to do other than note its documentary marks!

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adelapt

Posts: 418
Registered: May 2003

iconnumber posted 01-14-2016 02:11 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for adelapt     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Swarter - you have a typo in that reply - go back a century and it fits. Cheers.

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