The Mary Eleanor Hibbert Cape Silver Collection
Timed Online Auction, 14 June - 9 July 2025
The Mary Eleanor Hibbert Collection
About the SessionThis auction features the notable private Cape silver collection of Mary Eleanor Hibbert assembled over many decades and featuring rare pieces, including a double beaker, alms dish, sugar bowls, snuff boxes and 18ct gold clasps from the golden age of Cape silversmithing. Master silversmiths included in this collection are Willem Godfried Lotter, Lawrence Holme Twentyman, Johannes Casparus Lotter, Johan Hendrik Vos and Jan Lotter.
About this Item
Provenance
The Mary Eleanor Hibbert Collection
Notes
Johannes Combrink, born in the Cape and baptized on 3 June 1781, was the son of Jan (Johannes) Combrink (born 1751) and Johanna Elisabeth Essler. He married Aurelia Wilhelmina Lotter on 5 April 1807 and remained active as a silversmith in Cape Town until his death on 9 November 1853. Combrink began his trade at 29 Dorp Street (1814–1825), then worked from 28 Dorp Street (1826–1829), 47 Dorp Street (1830–1841), and finally 50 Dorp Street (1842–1853). In records from 1814 to 1829, his surname also appears as "Kombrink." His work is represented by a wide range of silversmith marks.
Stephan Welz (1976) Cape Silver and Silversmiths, Cape Town, AA Balkema.