A brief discussion on the ancient history of the silversmiths’ craft in Scotland and peculiarities in marking adapted from Chats on Silver.
The standard mark of the Thistle introduced in 1759 (Edinburgh), the Lion rampant (Glasgow) in 1819.
The study of Scottish silver is a special one. Its manufacture and the statutes governing the goldsmiths and silversmiths extend back to the fifteenth century. The chief centres of marking and assaying were primarily Edinburgh and latterly Glasgow in addition. But it is remarkable how many towns and burghs assayed silver. In comparison with England the manufacture of silver plate seems to have covered a wider area in Scotland. Examples are extant showing that Dundee assayed silver as early as the seventeenth century, with the town mark of the two-handled pot with lilies, and the same mark was used in the late nineteenth century. Perth had its lamb and the flag, emblem of St. John. Aberdeen had the letters ABD ; Elgin had ELN ; Banff had BA; and Inverness had INS, or its mark of a camel. This is enough, meagre though it be, to indicate that the identification of Scottish silver requires no little close study into the records covering an intricate field, and many marks unattributed to any special place are believed to be Scottish in origin.
Of the Scottish silver-plate shown on this site, it may be said that, whenever possible, details are given of the peculiarities of marking to enable the student to familiarize him or herself with the differences in comparison with English silver. The assay master’s initials, the maker’s initials, and the date letter are an array of letters possibly puzzling to the beginner.
