Burnell and Rowe

Description

This is a good quality George IV Sterling Silver Teaspoon in the traditional Fiddle pattern. The spoon has the initial B elegantly engraved at the top of the stem.

The teaspoon was made by William Woodman of Bristol and assayed in Exeter in 1829. William Woodman was a Bristol silversmith who was in business between 1818 and 1838 and possibly a little earlier. Because Bristol didn’t have its own assay office, his work is all hallmarked in Exeter, the office for the south west of England. Woodman was a specialist spoon maker who occasionally produced other pieces but these are very rare. After his retirement in the late 1830s, his business was taken over by Robert Williams and would evolve into Josiah Williams & Co.

The history of silversmithing in Exeter goes back to at least the Middle Ages but the assay office wasn't formally established until 1701. As silver manufacturing became centred in London, Birmingham and Sheffield there was less and less work for the Exeter office and it was closed in 1883, making Exeter marked silver very collectable.

Condition is very good, with no dings or dents and just the superficial surface wear that you would expect after over 190 years of good service. Please make sure to view all the photographs.

The teaspoon is 14.4cm / 5.7ins long and weighs in at a very respectable 20.4g / 0.72oz of solid Sterling Silver.

The hallmarks, on the underside of the stem, are a little rubbed but still clear to read. They show the lion passant for Sterling Silver, the three towered wall assay mark for Exeter, the date letter n for 1829, the George IV duty mark and the distinctive W W makers' mark for William Woodman of Bristol.

Shipping in the UK is £5 by Royal Mail Tracked 24.
Overseas customers, please ask us about shipping costs to your country before making a purchase.