A Cape silver covered sugar bowl, unknown maker HNS, 18th century
Evening Sale
Lot Estimate Change Currency
ZAR 50 000 - 70 000
Selling Price
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
ZAR 102 107
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About this Item
A Cape silver covered sugar bowl, unknown maker HNS, 18th century
urn-shaped with beaded borders, the sides applied with a pair of rope-twist handles with foliate terminals, the semi-domed cover with bud-and-leaf finial, on a spreading circular foot, 235g
height: 10cm
Notes
Stamped 'HNS', this maker’s mark remains unattributed to a definitively identified Cape silversmith. Although the initials appear on a small group of late 18th-century Cape silver pieces, no archival record has conclusively linked them to a named silversmith. Some scholars have suggested a possible association with Daniel Heinrich Schmidt based on stylistic similarities and comparable secondary punches, but this remains unproven. The mark therefore continues to be catalogued as an “unknown maker”, a small but intriguing mystery within the study of Cape silver.
Similar marks can be seen here.
Cape Silver Marks, The Silver Collector's Difinitive Guide,
2026, HNS
Accessed: 19/02/2026
Provenance
Private Collection.
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