Posted 8 years ago
stigofthed…
(10 items)
Hello friends, I have to admit defeat on this little spoons marks and reach out to more knowledgeable minds for help if possible.
The man on horse looks to be wearing a large hat (Sombrero or Stestson perhaps?) and it's this mark causing me consternation.
At first I thought America, and Mexico too, but then after much image searching etc it lead me towards South Africa, and then away towards Lithuania (man on horse was facing left not right) and then it seemed nothing.
Would anyone have any ideas on this lovely little spoon's origins?
The 'silver' mark seems to be self explanatory, but quite possibly this isn't the case.
Thanks for your time.
Ben
I feel for you because I totally understand, ugh! It's that old saying, the more you see, the less you know??? Is that how it goes?
I have a sterling silver napkin ring with the exact same mark and I'm yet to find out its origin. Mine also has a 'G', an unidentifiable mark and 'STG' stamped on it. When I first found it I thought the G might indicate that it was Gorham and they did do little pictures as date marks for a while but no horse that I can see.
Hello, My Grandfather gifted me a napkin ring from his baptism in the 1940's with the same logo. After some research I found that the silversmith for this piece may have been Norman Watson from Durban South Africa. My Grandfather is from Durban so this seems to be accurate. "The 'Boy on horseback' mark is the trade mark of Norman Watson. The mark is a representation of Dick King who rode from Durban to Grahamstown to carry the message that Durban was being attacked by the Boers" Seeing as I can not find many pieces from Norman Watson I would say you have a rare find.
Hi Amber, thank you for your input on this. It was some time ago now that I looked into his but It seems you may well be right on the N.Watson theory.
I notice that the hallmark on my spoon has the full word 'silver' rather than the 'STG' mark usually seen, and it seems to be a little more simplified generally in terms of marks, there being only two on my spoon as opposed to the four marks seen in Norman Watson examples I have looked at online.
(https://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15236&start=160)
I shall try and track down some further corroboration, but thanks again.