Silver serving spoon with ‘rat’s tail’ back, Thomas Kanzow Bowley, London 1890

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Sterling Silver tablespoon with ‘Rat’s tail’ back, marked midway for  

London 1890

Makers Mark – T.K.B. 

for Thomas Kanzow Bowley, 

L: 21cm

excellent condition

This spoon is hallmarked for 1890; curiously, the Thomas Kanzow Bowley only registered their maker’s mark in 1891.

The reason for this curious double-date is the Assay year letter mark – in this case a ‘P’ – changed over in May each year to the next alphabetical letter. We can therefore confidently date this spoon to the first five months of 1891, during which time TKB was also registered as a maker’s mark.

The spoon itself is an interesting ‘historical re-creation’ of an earlier form, with the rats-tail and midway hallmarks all being typical of the early 18th century.