Having produced only 700-800 works in his short-lived career Gilbert Marks (1861-1905) is not among the best-known silversmiths of his generation but was considered one of the foremost craftsmen of his day.
That he still has many admirers was evident when a 6¼in (17cm) long, lozenge-form dish was offered at Chilcotts (21% buyer’s premium) in Honiton on March 2. The hand-planished dish, typically embossed with flowers and chrysanthemum leaves, bore Marks’ facsimile signature and hallmarks for London, 1898. This was two years after he registered his mark at Goldsmiths’ Hall, having learned his trade at the London company Johnson, Walker & Tolhurst.