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1772-1940s English & Dutch Sterling Utensils (5)

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:50.00 USD Estimated At:200.00 - 400.00 USD
1772-1940s English & Dutch Sterling Utensils (5)
Featured in this lot are five English and Dutch sterling serving utensils from 1772 to 1900s. The first and oldest piece in this collection was made by Thomas Pitts in London circa 1772. Thomas Pitts was a London silversmith who was apprenticed to Charles Hatfield in 1737. Pitts was a specialist epergne maker from 1766. His 3 sons Thomas, William and Joseph were all apprenticed to him in 1767, 1769 and 1772. The serving utensil shows intricate stamped and cut out floral designs on the blade with the handle showing small beads of sterling around the outer edge. The back of the blade is stamped with the makers mark and other stampings. The makers mark has been worn off slightly and reads "TP". The other stampings include a lion passant indicating the quality of the silver, the London town mark and worn down letter indicating the year it was made. The second utensil in this collection is unmarked but believed to have come from a Dutch silversmith. The serving knife shows a beautiful and intricate stamped design on the blade showing a woman kneeling on the ground with some fish on her lap as she looks towards the viewer. The outer edges of the blade show floral designs. The handle is stamped with initials reading "Ph. W.". The third piece in this collection is a candy spoon and comes from Holland circa 1920-30s. Hubertus Hooykaas established the Hooykaas Schoonhovense Silver Factory in 1874, beginning as a modest workshop. The business started to specialize in the electrolytic production of old Dutch silver around 1890. The business rose to prominence as Schoonhoven's most significant silver manufacturer and the town's largest employer in the 1930s. The silver factory of Hooykaas, at a large-scale, produced hand made silver utensils. In the booming years of the company, they employed around 150 people.
The spoon shows beautiful designs in the bowl of the spoon showing a farm scene with a windmill and two farm houses in the center of the bowl. The handle is simple yet elegant and leads up to an intricate owl at the top. On the outer edge of the bowl it is marked "HH". The fourth utensil in this collection is another candy spoon and was made by H. Hooykaas in Holland circa 1940s. The spoon is beautifully and intricately designed inside the bowl showing floral designs and a farmhouse scene of a family working inside the house. The spoon is stamped in the farmhouse scene with Dutch stampings and the makers mark. The makers mark reads "HH" with two small stars next to the H's. The other stamps include a ".830" stamp indicating the quality of the silver, a key stamp, a lion passant, the letter "M" and a side profile of a face. The neck of the spoon is elegantly designed and leads up to a man holding two buckets using a stick across his back and ropes tied to the buckets to carry them. The fifth and final utensil in this collection is a decorative knife used for serving. The knife features a sterling construction and shows initials or a partial name on the top of the handle reading, "Lou.". On one side of the blade it features stampings but they are worn down and unrecognizable. The blade features intricate floral like designs on both sides with the handle showing more geometric shapes and designs. All the pieces in this collection show good condition overall with slight wear to some from their age and use over the years but no signs of obvious damage are present. The utensils measure from 7 3/16" L x 3/4" W to 12 3/16" L x 2 5/8" W. The collective weight of all the utensils is 366.7 grams.