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In this Forum we discuss the silver of the United Kingdom, as well as British Colonial silver and Old Sheffield Plate. Past British - Irish Sterling topics/threads worth a look. |
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In this Forum we discuss the silver of the United Kingdom, as well as British Colonial silver and Old Sheffield Plate. Past British - Irish Sterling topics/threads worth a look. |
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 SMP Silver Salon Forums
 British / Irish Sterling
 Patrick McFarlane, Glasgow
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| Author | Topic: Patrick McFarlane, Glasgow |
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seaduck Posts: 351 |
posted 11-01-2012 12:34 PM
  
Does anyone have the life dates for Patrick McFarlane, a silversmith in Glasgow? I don't know much about UK silver or resources; tried a Google.co.uk search that didn't yield anything. This is in reference to a three-piece tea service, a family set. An old appraisal includes the dates 1781-1800. If that's Patrick's life, it means he was 19 at the most when he made it. But it seems a very broad (and specific) range for an origin date. IP: Logged |
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ahwt Posts: 2377 |
posted 11-01-2012 12:59 PM
The Scottish provincial silver marks website lists Patrick McFarland. His mark was MF and the date they give is 1781. I suppose the date given is when he registered his mark or started business. Love to see a picture of your tea set. IP: Logged |
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seaduck Posts: 351 |
posted 11-01-2012 01:11 PM
Ah -ha. Hadn't thought in terms of the range for his active work life. That makes sense. Would still be curious about his lifespan. Many thanks! I will try to repay you with a pic when I pull the set out of storage in the next few weeks! IP: Logged |
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seaduck Posts: 351 |
posted 01-02-2013 02:11 PM
At long last...as promised, a photo of the McFarlane tea set. IP: Logged |
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ahwt Posts: 2377 |
posted 01-02-2013 03:40 PM
Very pretty set. I would imagine that it is very unusual for the tray to stay with the pot after all these years. Great find. IP: Logged |
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swarter Moderator Posts: 2920 |
posted 01-02-2013 05:01 PM
In Jackson's Marks the date of his (presumably) first registry is given as 1781. Spoons are dated 1781-1784; Turner's Directory dates spoons 1781 - 1800. Dating may based at least at part on style, as there are gaps in the early tables as published and no sequential date marks assigned by the Glasgow assay office until duty marks and the Lion Rampant were introduced with the first cycle in 1819. There are several variations in the "Tree, Fish, (Bird), and Bell" mark, with the one on McFarlane's spoons lacking the bell and bird. The marks as illustrated in Jackson are MF, tree (as above), MF, S (in a square). There are also variations of the "S" mark. Can you post a picture of the marks on your pieces? It would be informative to see if (and how) they might differ from those in the one illustrated set of marks. Note that another Glasgow silversmith used an MF mark in 1811, attributed to one Archibald McFayden, which date could fit the style of your set as well. [This message has been edited by swarter (edited 01-02-2013).] IP: Logged |
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seaduck Posts: 351 |
posted 01-02-2013 05:23 PM
Swarter-- I'll see what I can do about the marks. I have a hard time on details -- I don't have a macro lens, and I don't have a steady enough hand to shoot through a magnifying glass (as I saw someone do recently). Will try to post something in the next day. Ahwt -- can't say it's really a 'find,' as it's a family piece. Maybe it was a find a few generations ago! IP: Logged |
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swarter Moderator Posts: 2920 |
posted 01-02-2013 05:28 PM
Try a drawing if you can't get a photo. IP: Logged |
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seaduck Posts: 351 |
posted 01-02-2013 10:11 PM
God made scanners for a reason! The pieces have flat bottoms, thankfully, so I cranked up the resolution and gave it a try. The marks in this photo are on the underside of the creamer. Interestingly, the ones on the underside of the pot are arranged in a different pattern: marks at cardinal points, with the MF in the middle. I am not sure what the character is between the M and the F...it looks a bit like a stylized ampersand but I'm guessing it's a variation of the 'c' in McFarlane. IP: Logged |
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seaduck Posts: 351 |
posted 01-02-2013 10:39 PM
I am now wondering if I had this all wrong...I hadn't looked closely at these marks or doublechecked since we had an appraisal done on family pieces several years ago, which said this set was Patrick McFarlane of Glasgow. I did think the name mark was odd. But isn't this castle mark Edinburgh? My focus is American work and so I confess ignorance when it comes to the UK. Anxious to get your opinion!!! IP: Logged |
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seaduck Posts: 351 |
posted 01-02-2013 11:44 PM
I have said here before that it's a sign of madness when you start responding to your own posts.... But I am on the trail here and questioning the info we had. I am now thinking that this piece is Edinburgh, 1799, made by McHattie and Fenwick. Most of the marks for M and F that I've found online have a teensy ampersand, not like this one, but I did find one photo with a mark that resembles this. Also, the general character of the pieces and quality of the engraving (recognizing that this was all fairly common) seem to be in line with some McHattie and Fenwick pieces I have found. IP: Logged |
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PhilO Posts: 166 |
posted 01-03-2013 01:57 AM
The unknown character is definitely an ampersand (&) and is typical of those found on several Scottish partnership marks of the period. In fact this mark (together with others with a more conventional ampersand) is illustrated in the excellent Registration Archive web pages of the Incorporation of Goldsmiths of the City of Edinburgh and is firmly attributed to McHattie & Fenwick (George McHattie & George Fenwick) whose partnership lasted from 1799 to 1807. IP: Logged |
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seaduck Posts: 351 |
posted 01-03-2013 10:50 AM
PhilO: Thanks so very much for this! For me, this is a lesson in the researcher's bugbear: seeing what one expects to see. I was trying to imagine that the ampersand could in fact be some form of the little 'c' in 'Mc'. IP: Logged |
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swarter Moderator Posts: 2920 |
posted 01-03-2013 11:23 AM
You and PhilO are correct - the mark is M&F; the date Roman capital T in that shape shield, the conforming duty mark, and the castle mark without three uniformly squared turrets are all shown in printed sources as found together on silver from 1799. Marks on the bottom of holloware pieces are not always linear as they are on spoons, but are often separated and placed apart in a symmetrical pattern as you describe. [This message has been edited by swarter (edited 01-03-2013).] IP: Logged |
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