Silver & Silver-plated items

A large, striking George IV silver-gilt centrepiece led Christie’s sale of the Robert de Balkany collection after it was hammered down to London silver dealer Koopman Rare Art.

The tragic story of the last of the imperial Russian family does not have an immediately obvious connection with a Yorkshire spa town but it is nonetheless a strong one.

Most collectors have a burning passion. For John and Patricia McKenzie, the items that fired their interest were vesta cases, the small portable boxes made to contain matches and keep them dry.

A rare and recently rediscovered Irish Commonwealth/Charles II silver porringer sold today for £25,000 – five times its estimate – at Sworders’ auction in Essex.

The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Galleries in the Victoria & Albert Museum has re-opened with more than 500 objects on display, free to the public.

A rare late 19th century Burmese silver bowl has come to auction having previously been used by the vendor’s mother as a waste paper basket.

Only a handful of pieces of Irish secular silver are known to survive from before the Restoration.

Smashing an auction record is one thing – doing it several times in the same sale is another.

Opposition to the ‘outsourcing’ of UK hallmarks overseas is gathering momentum in the trade. Campaigners say the use of British hallmarks in India threatens a 700-year-old system for stamping precious metals.

This George III coconut cup with silver strapwork mounts sold by Lyon & Turnbull of Edinburgh provides a glimpse of the close relationship that existed between Scotland and Russia in the late 18th century.

A group of British silversmiths, jewellery retailers and manufacturers has launched a campaign against the ‘outsourcing’ of UK hallmarks overseas.

Police are appealing for help following the theft of £10,000 worth of silver from a church in Blockley, near Moreton-in-Marsh in Gloucestershire.