king's mark—a leopard's or lion's head crowned. This was introduced in 1300 by Edward I. (29 Edw. I. stat. 3, c. 30). The second, the maker's mark, was instituted in 1363 (37 Edw. III. c. 7). This might be any badge or initial chosen by the master silversmith himself. The third was the Year letter or assayer's mark; this was an alphabet, one letter being used for a year, counting from the day of the annual election of the warden of the Goldsmiths' Company. When one alphabet was exhausted another with differently shaped letters was begun. The earliest existing piece of plate which has the three marks is the chalice (with paten, 1479–1480), at Nettlecombe, Somerset. Other marks, subsequently introduced, were the lion passant, first used in 1544; the lion's head erased; and a full-length figure of Britannia, used only between 1697 and 1719–1720; and, lastly, the portrait of the reigning sovereign, which was used from 1784 to 1890, when the duty on gold and silver plate ceased. In addition to these general hall-marks, the plate made in various provincial towns had certain special assay and hall-marks.
The best work on hall-marked plate and the marks themselves, with the history of the Goldsmiths' Company, is C. J. Jackson's English Goldsmiths and their Marks (1905), where will be found illustrations of the marks found on plate wrought in Scotland and Ireland, and at English provincial gilds—York, Norwich, Exeter, Chester, Lincoln, Newcastle, Birmingham, Sheffield and other places. E. Alfred Jones's book, Old English Gold Plate (1907), illustrates and describes gold plate only.
Modern Plate in the East.—Though little plate of real artistic merit is now made in Europe, in the East among the Moslem and Hindu races there still survive some real taste in design and skill in execution. Delhi, Benares, Lucknow, Cutch and other places in India and Kashmir still produce a quantity of beautiful silver and gold work—chiefly ewers, basins, rose-water sprinklers, salvers, coffee-pots and the like. These are of graceful form, covered with rich repoussé work, or more often with very delicate chased patterns. Their style in the main is Moslem, but some combine an Arab form with native Indian surface decoration. This class of work is not a revival, but has been practised and handed down by unbroken tradition, and with little or no change in style from the 16th century or even earlier.[1] The silversmiths of Persia, Damascus and other Eastern places are still skilful, and retain some good tradition in their designs. They are, however, more occupied in the production of personal ornaments than in making larger works of silver or gold.
Authorities.—Scandinavian and Celtic Plate.—Worsaae, Primeval Antiquities of Denmark (1849); Afbildninger fra de Kongelige Museum (1854); "Industrial Arts of Denmark," S.K.M. Handbook (1882); Atlas de l'archéologie du nord (1857); Anderson, Mindelblade fra de danske kongers Samling (1867); Danmarks, Norges, og Sverigs historie (1867); Madsen, Afbildninger af danske Oldsager (1868–1876); Montelius, Antiquités suédoises (1873–1875); Stralsund, Der Goldschmuck von Hiddensoe (1881); Hildebrand, "Industrial Arts of Scandinavia," S.K.M. (1882); Reeves, Shrine of St Patrick's Bell (1850); Wilde, Catalogue of Antiquities of Gold, Royal Irish Academy (1862); Margaret Stokes, Early Christian Art in Ireland (1875); J. Romilly Allen, Celtic Art in Pagan and Christian Times (1904).
Danish.—C. Nyrop, Meddelelser ond dansk Guldesmedekunst (1884); Bernhard Olsen, De kjobenhavnske Guldsmedes Marker fra Tiden for Aaret, 1800 (1892).
Italian.—L. Caglieri, Compendio delle vite dei santi orefici ed argentieri (1727); Il Santuario delle reliquie ossia il tesoro della basilica di S. Antonio di Padova (1851); "Stanziamenti e contratti per opere di oreficeria (XIV.-XV. cent.)," Perugia: R. Commissione Giornale, i. 333, iii 206, 225 (1872–1874); Filangieri, Documenti per la storia, le arte e le industrie delle provincie napoletane (1883–1891); Antonio Pasini, Il Tesoro di San Marco, Venezia (2 vols., 1885–1886); "Orfevres et l'orfevrerie en Savoie," Chambery: Soc. savoisienne mémoires, xxiv. 329 (1886); A. Guarneri, Esposizione di Palermo. Catalogo della collezione di antica oreficeria ed argenteria (1891); L. Fumi, Il Santuario del SS. Corporale nel duomo di Orvieto (1896); Congresso eucaristico ed esposizione di arte sacra antica in Orvieto (1897); Congresso eucaristico di Venezia (1898); A. Cocchi, Les Anciens reliquaires de Santa Marta del Fiore et de San Giovanni de Florence (1903), O. H. Giglioli, Pistoia, nelle sue opere d'arte (1904); Catalogo generale della mostra d'arte antica abruzzese in Chieti (1905); E. Manceri, Nottzie di Sicilia, arte viii. 388 (1905); P. Piccirilli, Oreficeria medievale aquilana: due cimeli nel Victoria and Albert Museum di Londra (1905); F. Ferrari, L'Oreficeria in Aquila (1906); S. J. A. Churchill, "The Goldsmiths of Rome under the Papal Authority," with valuable bibliography, Papers of British School at Rome, vol. iv. (1907); Catalogo della mostra d'antica arte Umbra (Perugia, 1907); Corrado Ricci, Il Palazzo pubblico di Siena e la mostra d'antica arte senese.
Russian, &c.—A. P. Sonzoff, an illustrated book on some Russian plate (1857–1858); A. Maskell, Russian Art and Art Objects in Russia (1884); C. de Linas, Les Origines de l'orfèvrerie cloisonné; Viollet-le-Duc, Art russe, Antiquities of the Russian Empire.
Austrian and Hungarian.—B. Czobor and I. Szalay, Die historischen Denkmäler Ungarns (1897–1901); E. Radisics and J. Szendrei, Treasure of Hungarian Art (Hung.) (Budapest, 1897–1901); J. Mihalik, "History of Goldsmiths' Work at Kassa" (Hung.), in vol. xxi of Archaeological Proceedings of Hungarian Academy (1899); "Zur Geschichte der Wiener Gold- und Silberschmiedekunst," by E. Leisching, in Kunst und Kunsthandwerk, vii. 343 (1904); "Alt Troppauer Goldschmiedekunst," by E. W. Braun, in Zeitschrift für Geschichte . . . oesterreichisch Schlesiens, i. 24 (1905); J. Hampel, Alterthümer des frühen Mittelalters in Ungarn (Brunswick, 1907); Katalog der Ausstellung von alt-oesterreichischen Goldschmiedearbeiten (Kaiser Franz Josef Museum in Troppau); A. Ilg, Wiener Schmiedewerk.
German, &c.—Manuscripts (W. Jamnitzer), "Ein gar kunstlicher und wolgezierter Schreibtisch sampt allerhant kunstlichen silbern und vergulten newerfunden Instrumenten" (1585), col. drawings; Sibmacher, Entwürfe für Goldschmiede (1879); R. Bergau, Wentzel Jamnitzer (1880); Erzeugnisse der Silber-Schmiede Kunst aus dem 16 bis 18 Jahrh. (1883); Luthmer, Der Schatz des Freiherrn K. von Rothschild (2 vols., 1883–1885); Luthmer and Schuermann, Grossherzoglich-hessische Silberkammer (1884); C. A. von Drach, Ältere Silberarbeiten in den kgl. Sammlungen zu Cassel (1888); Marc Rosenberg, Der Goldschmiede Merkzeichen (1890); J. H. Hefner-Alteneck, Deutsche Goldschmiede-werke des 16. Jahrh. (1890); Marc Rosenberg, 17 Blatt aus dem grossherzoglich'sächsischen Silberschatz im Schlosse zu Weimar (1891); Die Kunstkammer im grossherzoglichen Residenzschlosse zu Karlsruhe (1892); Siebzehn Blatt aus dem herzoglich Anhaltischen Silberschatz im Schlosse zu Dessau (1895); F. Sarre, Die berliner Goldschmiede Zunft (1895); P. Seidel, "Deux œuvres de Wenzel Jamnitzer," Der Silber- und Goldschatz der Hohenzollern im kgl. Schlosse zu Berlin (1895); Gaz. des beaux arts, 3 S. xx. 221 (1898); Eugen von Nottbeck und W. Neumann, Geschichte u. Kunstdenkmäler der Stadt Reval (1899); Bernhard Olsen, De hamburgske Guldsmede Jakob Mores d. oeldres og d. yngres Arbejder for de danske Konger Frederik II. og Christian IV. (1903), (Die Arbeiten der hamburgischen Goldschmiede Jacob Mores, Vater und Sohn, für die dänischen Könige Frederick II. und Christian IV.); J. Sembritzki, Verzeichniss in Memel vorhandener, älterer Erzeugnisse der Edelschmiedekunst (1904); H. P. Mitchell, "Two works by Wentzel Jamnitzer," Art Journal, p. 105 (1905); W. Neumann, Verzeichnis baltischer Goldschmiede, ihrer Merkzeichen und Werke (1905); E. Hintze, Die breslauer Goldschmiede (1906); E. Alfred Jones, "The gold and silver plate of W. D. von Raitenau, prince-archbishop of Salzburg, in the Pitti Palace," Connoisseur, xviii. 20 (1907); "The Plate of the Emperor of Germany," Connoisseur, nos. 51 and 54; Illustrated Catalogue of Early German Art (Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1908); Richard Graul, Leipziger Gold- und Silberschmiedearbeiten des Mittelalters (1908); A. Weiss, Das Handwerk der Goldschmiede zu Augsburg bis 1681; E. von Schauss, Die Schatzkammer des bayerischen Königshauses; "Duke of Portland's Gold Cup," Archeologia, lix. 233.
French, Burgundian, &c.—J. C. Delafosse, Nouvelle iconologie historique, fol. (1771); E. Aubert, Trésor de l'abbaye de Saint-Maurice d'Agaune (1872); Mely, Le Trésor de Chartres (1886); L. Palustre et X. Barbier de Montault, Le Trésor de Trèves (1886); J. D'Arbaumont et L. Marchant, Le Trésor de la Sainte-Chapelle de Dijon d'après ses anciens inventaires (1887); C. G. Bapst, Études sur l'orfèvrerie française au XVIIIᵉ siècle, le Germain, orfèvres-sculpteurs du Roy (1887); Album de l'exposition de l'art ancien au pays de Liége: orfèvrerie religieuse (1888); Catalogue raisonné des pièces d'orfèvrerie française composant la collection du marquis da Foz (à Lisbonne) (1889); L'Orfèvrerie française à la cour de Portugal au XVIIIᵉ siècle (1892); E. Müntz, Histoire de l'art pendant la Renaissance (1891); W. Cripps, Old French Plate (1893); H. Havard, Histoire de l'orfèvrerie française (1896); Inventaire de l'orfèvrerie et des joyaux de Louis I. (1903); E. Molmier, Un Monument d'orfèvrerie française du XIIIᵉ siècle, Soc. des antiq. de France, p. 477 (1904); F. Pasquier, "Objets précieux de la maison de Foix au quinzième siècle," Sociétés des beaux arts, Mémoires (1904); L. de Farcy, "Croix de la Roche-Foulques," Revue de l'art chrétien, p. 337 (1905); J. J. Marquet de Vasselot, Catalogue raisonné de la collection Martin Le Roy (1906); Histoire de l'art, ii. 988-999 (with bibliography), edited by André Michel (1907), &c.; A. Lefranc, 50 planches d'ancienne orfèvrerie empire.
Low Countries.—Van Loon, Histoire métallique des Pays-Bas (Hague, 1732–1737); Schaepkens, Trésor de l'art ancien en Belgique (1846); Tentoonstellung Amsterdam (illustrations), (1877); for marks on Dutch plate, see Nederlandsche Kunstbode (1879); Exposition retrospective d'objets d'art en or et en argent, Amsterdam (1880); Roddaz, L'Art ancien à l'exposition nationale belge (1882); Leewarden-Provincial Friesch Genootschap (1902); Catalogue of the Exhibition
- ↑ See Birdwood, Industrial Arts of India (1880), p. 144.
