Burnell and Rowe

Description

This is a fine quality pair of Victorian Sterling Silver Serving Spoons in the classic Fiddle pattern. The spoons are made in Newcastle by Reid & Sons and date to 1843. There were at least three generations of Reid family silversmiths in Newcastle Upon Tyne throughout the 19th century, all of them specialist spoon makers. This pair of spoons were made by the father and sons team of Christian Ker Reid, David Reid & Christian Bruce Reid.

Newcastle has a long history of silversmithing going back to the Middle Ages but the assay office wasn't established until 1702, a clerical error having missed the city name from the 1701 Act of Parliament that established other provincial assay offices! The office was closed in 1884 making Newcastle assay marks much rarer than the main offices like London, Birmingham & Sheffield and very sought after by collectors.

These serving spoons are well made pieces in a heavy gauge of silver. They have the initial "M" elegantly engraved at the top of the stem. They are perfectly usable today or would make a good addition to any collection.

Whilst the spoons have definitely seen some use in the last 175 or so years they remain in very good overall condition with no splits and just a slight flat spot on one bowl plus the superficial surface wear which is only to be expected after this length of service. Please make sure to view all the photographs.

Each spoon is 22.4cm / 8.9" long and the pair together weigh a very substantial 140.1g / 4.94oz of solid Sterling Silver.

The hallmarks on the underside of the stems are crisp and clear to read. They show the lion passant for Sterling Silver, the three towers assay mark for Newcastle, the London leopard's head assay mark (which was often included in provincial silver hallmarks), the date letter "E" for 1843, the William IV duty mark (Newcastle was very slow to introduce new duty marks and the Queen Victoria one didn't appear until 1844) and the CR over DR over CR makers' mark for Christian Ker Reid, David Reid & Christian Bruce Reid of Reid & Sons.

Shipping in the UK is £10 by Royal Mail Special Delivery Parcel Post, which includes cover for the value of the spoons.
Overseas customers please ask us about shipping costs to your country before making a purchase.