posted 07-29-2006 01:16 PM            

I was wondering if anybody can identify the hallmarks ( silversmith ) for this French silver teapot and the date? I do own a copy of Tardy but I can't find the exact A (Paris) mark in the book so I'm not sure if its first half of the 18th c. or later.

I'm a collector of antiques but not a serious silver collector.

Thanks in advance for your help/reply!

HallMarks:

posted 07-29-2006 08:54 PM            

A genuine 18th C French object would have 4 marks, and your teapot has only 2. The crowned A mark should be larger than the maker's mark and you're right, it doesn't match any A dating back as far as 1507.

Also the depth of the punch doesn't look right. The zigzag assay mark is not French.

As FredZ advises, a picture of the whole object would be helpful.

posted 07-30-2006 04:49 AM            

Here is a picture of the teapot, the ivory on the handle has been added later i think.

I have cleaned the marks. it might be a bit better to see them.

I just noticed there is also a small zigzag assay mark on the inside of the lid:

posted 07-30-2006 12:13 PM            

The pot does not look like a typical Hanau product as it is not "jazzed" up.

posted 07-30-2006 04:24 PM            

I'd agree with Ms. Burstyn that you should look for a "poincon de decharge," but I'd caution that this is not necessarily, in my experience, a "sure sign of a genuine piece" ... I have seen discharge marks faked and imitated as well.

Also, there ought to be separate hallmarks on the lid - unless this, too, is a later replacement, which would not surprise me - it looks slightly wrong for an 18th-c teapot.

posted 07-30-2006 04:47 PM            

Very interesting remarks - when I looked at this piece first I thought Belgian (handle of course replaced later)and now that you mention the higher domed lid - a bit atypical for French - I am even more convinced. Unfortunately my Belgian books show only samples of city and master marks, - I looked through Jacques Helft: "Le poinçon des provinces françaises" and there are two LF master marks, but nothing really definitely matching.

Please tell me more about the faked discharge marks (makes me kind of sad that fakers caught up to this one).

posted 07-31-2006 05:38 AM            

On the top of the lid are some weird markings. I do not know if they are hallmarks or damages.

posted 07-31-2006 05:43 AM            

And i have to add the teapot was purchased in Belgium.

posted 07-31-2006 11:54 AM            

Clearly the handle has indeed been replaced, which is a shame ... probably in the 19th century. If you wanted to get the pot restored, you could look in books and auction catalogs to get a sense of what the original handle would have looked like.

Here is a teapot from Lille (northern France near the current-day Belgian border), 1757:
http://www.ascasonline.org/window5.html

And on this page is one from Brussels, 1734-7:
[<gone from the internet> .provant.be/sterckshof/frans/sh3f.htm]
www.provant.be/sterckshof/frans/sh3f.htm

The things on the lid of your pot look like dents, not hallmarks. Marking was not always as strict as it should have been, especially on provincial pieces. It is hard to get a good sense of patina from photos, but I do not think the lid has necessarily been replaced.

The crowned A was used in many different towns, with slight variations, and is hard to pin down. Your best bet (if the pot is indeed French) would be to search through the guides to regional hallmarks published over the past couple of decades as part of the "Dictionnaire des point ons de l'orf verrerie française" series, and look for an exact match with the maker's mark. I'd start in northeastern France and work your way southwest.

posted 08-05-2006 04:00 AM            

Thanks!