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12 HEAVY FRENCH SILVER DINNER FORKS Late 1700s
Presented is a set of 12 heavy silver dinner forks made in France in the mid- to late-1700s. These were made before the French Revolution of 1789. These forks are all made in the French 950 purity silver (a slightly higher purity than sterling silver). They are decorated with a beautiful shell pattern on the top and elegant threading. The undersides of the handles are monogrammed with the intertwined initials G and A in two different styles, which correspond to when they were made. The initials were almost certainly for someone who had a title. Six of the forks date from the 1750s, and six date from 1783. On the earlier forks, the monograms are surmounted with a knight's head, and on the later forks, the monograms are surmounted with a crown. It appears that in the time between the 1750s and 1783, the person with initials GA may have risen in rank, and the different monogram style or crest may reflect this.
Each fork is marked on the underside with a number of marks. This is expected in French silver items. Some of the forks have marks that are difficult to decipher, so we have selected the best examples from our lot to photograph. The older 6 forks are mark with the crowned ornate A with a trumpet left leg and feathered right leg for the Paris charge mark used between 1783-1789, a crowned U with a tiny lightning bolt inside for the maison commune date mark for 1783, a mark of a little ewer, and a crowned fleur de lis with two points over the maker's initials CL and a cross for the maker's device. The earlier 6 forks are marked with the crowned A with feathery legs for the Paris charge mark used between 1768-1774, a crowned L for the maison commune date mark for 1774, a mark of a little cow, and a crowned fleur de lis with two points over the maker's initials NC and the maker's device. The maker's device is not fully discernible on all 6 forks and looks like a flame or leafy shape, as far as we can tell.
The forks are in excellent condition. There is surface wear commensurate with age and use, but this is minor. The decorations and the fork tines are in good shape. There are no dents, no breaks, no splits, no monogram removals and no repairs.
The forks measure approximately 8 1/16 inches long.
The forks weigh 1123.3 grams or 39.62 ounces.
Good luck and bid with confidence.
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