The teaspoons in the photo belonged to my great grandmother. I am unable to date the three at the top of the photo from London hallmark lists and cannot find the lion facing to the right. Can someone help me with this please? Why is the lion facing to the right. This seems very unusual and I am sure there must be a reason for it.
The lion is facing to the right because these are not British marks. They are an example of what are known as pseudo-marks and are almost certainly Chinese export ware. Some Chinese silversmiths in the 19th century made an attempt at making their silver look like British hallmarked silver. In this case the attempt was really very poor and resulted in these very crude looking marks. The silver in these pieces is of no set standard but they are interesting novelties.
Phil