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Kings pattern

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Author	Topic: Kings pattern
ahwt Posts: 2334 Registered: Mar 2003	posted 11-08-2006 08:55 AM Pictured above are a fork with Marquand’s mark and a rice spoon with Conning’s mark. The fork measures a little over 8 ½” long while the rice spoon is 14 3/8” long. These measurements are with the fork and the spoon lying upside down on a ruler without following the contours of the piece. If measured along the contour the fork is 8 7/8” while the spoon is 15”. Is there any time when the length measurement would be taken by following the contour of the silver item? It would seem that the first method would be the standard method as it is easier to carry out. Which method is followed by museums in their publications? While both are in the Kings pattern the shoulders are quite different on each item. The Marquand forks have the squared shoulders while the spoon has shoulders that are slightly flared. Is either shoulder associated with a particular country; i.e. England or France? The spoon has a pointed oval shaped bowl that I have always felt had its beginnings in France, however with France’s problems with Kings I wonder if the Kings pattern was ever made there. I suspect that the shape of the shoulders and bowl just happened to be fashionable in Mobile. The manufacturer marks on the Marquand fork are not shown exactly in McGrew as normally they would have a letter mark along with the bust, lion and leopard. Jim Williams an antique dealer from Savannah is credited with the legend that Marquand silver with a letter in the mark was made during Marquand’s time in Savannah. Mr. Williams was immortalized in the book “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”. The fork also has an attractive bird engraved on the back side and nothing on the front. I always associate engravings on the back with France, but not the squared shoulder. The spoon is not engraved. In any event there are some interesting contrasts in these two Kings pattern pieces. IP: Logged
t-man-nc Posts: 327 Registered: Mar 2000	posted 11-08-2006 05:38 PM Here is a Marquand Fork of 8 1/4 inches measured from end to end based on a flat ruler, which is how I measure the length of a piece and my seem to match most of the other measures I have seem on a number of sites... I would call this piece a Kings Pattern as well. I have attempted to get some pictures and I hope they come out well... The first two are the overall piece front and then back... Then the close-up of the marks, followed by the front and back of the shoulders... The marks are also different from the marks from John McGrew's book, but match some of the other references from other authors... As you can see this piece has very different shoulders than does yours so I am not sure what to say except that Marquand created many different styles depending on where it was made (New York, Savannah, etc)... Anyone else have thoughts or comments... "Smaug" IP: Logged
ahwt Posts: 2334 Registered: Mar 2003	posted 11-08-2006 06:54 PM Your fork seems to me to be a fashionable version of the Kings pattern, perhaps designed for a more sophisticated market. Very attractive design and I wonder if his firm obtained a design patent. IP: Logged
t-man-nc Posts: 327 Registered: Mar 2000	posted 11-08-2006 07:17 PM Actually found in a box marked silverplate that produced several pieces at a minimal cost. I wish I had more background... "Smaug" IP: Logged

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