During a recent review of a private collector, regarding a table service, I discovered an exceptional silver item bearing faked hallmarks struck by the maker himself in order to escape silver taxes and warranty payments.

In spite of its false marks, the fork, which is made of plain silver (a model called "uniplat") may be dated 1762-1768 and was produced in the Burgundian town of Chalon-sur-Saône. During that time, the town of Chalon belonged to the Bourgogne (Burgundy) region whose capital is DIJON. Chalon is located ca. 130 kilometres to the north of LYON. During the eighteenth century, there were usually six silver workshops in Chalon.

This article is exploring the legal rules surrounding silver hall-marks during the reign of Louis XV and the way used by the silversmith to cheat them.

LEGAL HALLMARK STRIKING ("INSCULPATION") DURING THE REIGN OF LOUIS XV

At the time the fork is sold to its final customer, the official marks to be stamped on silver items are as follows:

- the Charge Mark has not been changed from 1750 to 1775, it should be the letter P under an open crown bearing flowers ("fleurons"),

- the Discharge Mark registered between 1762 and 1768 appears to be a feline head (please note that discharge marks are never crowned),

- the Warranty Mark terminates the legal procedure. The mark is a crowned date-letter that is changed each year. The model shown above (with L) is used in 1764. The attached crown is open, bearing flowers ("fleurons")
 

At the time the fork is sold, the long reign of King Louis XV (who dies in 1774) is finishing in a very bad state. The poor state of the economy is pushing the authorities to drastically increase taxes in the whole kingdom. Including fees for the warranty issue, all taxes may account for about half the price paid to the makers by their own customers!!

A huge cost that may explain why silversmiths are trying to cheat on these taxes.
 

The fork is in plain silver, there are no armorials engraved on the spatula. There is no monogram either. Its teeth are in very good state, still very sharp ones. This item is twenty centimetres long, its weight 73 grams. I am showing below the different marks stamped in their order displayed on the handle. The marks are still in a very good state, neither damaged nor erased.

Here is the genuine maker’s mark of Claude Bénigne OUDOT The stamp is showing: the letters C and O (a point in between) that are his initials, under the crowned armorial bearings of Chalon containing three little rings. This silversmith was registered in Chalon in 1757, his activity was pursued until 1778.

Here is the first faked mark, An antique crowned P imitating the authentic stamp. Then, a second false mark, The same antique P that is cheating the genuine warranty mark.

Last, but not least, a feline head that is astonishingly imitating the authentic discharge mark. The third false mark. The fork was later stamped with a mark called « Old Works » ("vieux ouvrages") between 1781 and 1789 (an authentic mark meaning that the item has been resold).

Without taking into account this last mark, one may summarize the way used by Mr OUDOT for cheating the law:

- first of all, Mr OUDOT knows that is would be necessary to strike four marks on the fork, as any item in conformity with the legal procedure,
- second, he produces a crowned P that is a good reminder of what the charge mark should be, the antique aspect of this letter is a valuable trick,
- he feels confident that the same antique P will be confused with a normal warranty mark, hence taking some risks of being caught up (an event that never occurred!),
- finally, Claude OUDOT creates his own discharge mark that is remarkably imitating the official one (feline head) used between 1762 and 1768 in Chalon. Please note that this mark hence allows giving a precise dating of this fraud.

It seems that Mr OUDOT does not fear the numerous punishments attached with cheating the hallmarking system (being excluded from the corporation, ban or even death sentence).

It seems that such a fraud was never discovered, as the track records of Claude OUDOT are showing no suit, the silversmith is pursuing his activity until 1778. One may guess that his customer maybe took part in this cheating....
 

This fraud has been duly recorded and precisely described in a reference book that is part of the Cahiers du Patrimoine, n° 56, called "Les orfèvres de Bourgogne" (under the supervision of the Ministère de la Culture, 1999, ISBN 2-85822-272-X), pages 20 and 21.

There is no doubt that such an item, in such a remarkable state, is a masterpiece in any private collection. A happy few.