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Unknown Silver Hallmarks?

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Author	Topic: Unknown Silver Hallmarks?
suepower Posts: 5 Registered: Feb 2006	posted 07-27-2006 05:03 AM [26-1147] Hi All, I've just bought a bulk lot of spoons and trying to identify the hallmarks on this fiddle shaped spoon. The first two hallmarks suggest lion passant and London town mark. The next two I'm not sure about. Is the third a makers mark or date letter (YS in square). The last looks like a monarch head, but I have never seen one like that before. Are these hallmarks fake? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance. IP: Logged
blakstone Posts: 493 Registered: Jul 2004	posted 07-27-2006 12:15 PM I believe these are Chinese export pseudohallmarks used by Yatshing, a maker in the early to mid 19th century. IP: Logged
FWG Posts: 845 Registered: Aug 2005	posted 07-27-2006 01:12 PM I agree. Canton, c.1825-50, and quite prolific with several variants of this mark known. As I recall, most of the pieces I've seen from this shop have been pretty much 'straight' western style, as opposed to some others who added sometimes quite ornate decoration. IP: Logged
suepower Posts: 5 Registered: Feb 2006	posted 07-27-2006 05:09 PM Thanks for the reply guys. I would have never pictured the spoon to be from China. And that's what makes silver an interested area to study. I have seen many silver from China stamped with chinese letters/symbols, but never like these which look much like the english set of hallmarks. Why copy the hallmarks or is this just a coincidence? IP: Logged
FWG Posts: 845 Registered: Aug 2005	posted 07-27-2006 06:39 PM I don't think there's really any primary documentation, but the usual thinking is that since the pieces (like Chinese export porcelain) were made for trade to the west, and that trade was dominated by British shipping, that some makers developed/copied western forms and markings, and because of the recognizability of English hallmarks it was 'natural' to copy them. Some of the production went to the US and elsewhere, but those marks were pretty universally recognized. Some Chinese export silver is marked with 'chopmarks' (probably a derogatory term for the marks in Chinese characters, but in wide usage), but several makers used marks derived from English hallmarks. IP: Logged

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