Object
Silverware
The metal that carries the maker's mark
Silver is the most documented material in the collection: marks record maker, assay office and year, which makes it the easiest thing here to date exactly.
History
Eighteenth-century silver is commissioned and hallmarked, and the marks date it exactly.
Nineteenth and twentieth-century silver splits into revivalist factory work and the studio silversmith, and the marks tell you which.
What to look for
A full set of hallmarks, wear at the high points, and a maker whose dates match the style.
In this group
The searches this object is worth looking at. Each opens the collection for it.