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French Tea caddy hallmark question

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Author	Topic: French Tea caddy hallmark question
lejardinsecret Posts: 3 Registered: Mar 2005	posted 03-31-2005 07:13 PM [26-0313] Hello, can somebody help? We recently picked up this lovely tea caddy in France.I cannot identify the hallmarks, the collar is a weavil, I think! but the base marks are beyond me.....Import marks? I hope someone can throw some light on the date and origin of this lovely piece! Thanks in advance, yours perplexed, Paul NB the pink color is just a reflection! IP: Logged
labarbedor Posts: 353 Registered: Jun 2002	posted 03-31-2005 11:56 PM The tea caddy is a reproduction, very probably Dutch. The marks on the bottom are fantasy or pseudo marks, one vaguely similar to an Augsburg mark, etc. They are put on it to give an air of antiquity and authenticity. The repousee decoration is caste not real, in other words if you look inside the decoration is not a clear reverse image of the outside. I can't make out the marks on the collar, but from the shape and the way they are struck I am sure they are French marks for importation from some countries (including Holland) after 1893. The animal inside is an ant. Maurice IP: Logged
lejardinsecret Posts: 3 Registered: Mar 2005	posted 04-01-2005 03:41 AM Thanks for your reply. I have checked the inside of the caddy and through all the tea staining it is possible to see a clear reverse image of the outside pattern. So would that mean it is a reproduction from the end of the 19th century, probably from Holland, but not cast? I take it that the bottom marks mean nothing to you either? Thanks for your interest and I would be interested to hear any other ideas. Regards, Paul IP: Logged
labarbedor Posts: 353 Registered: Jun 2002	posted 04-01-2005 11:07 AM I am not sure what you meant by "I take it that the bottom marks mean nothing to you either?" The marks on the side are French the marks on the bottom don't mean anything. As for the inside, It would have to be the reverse of the outside and just as detailed to be repoussee work. It could very well be 19th century, but the sides are nearly certainly either stamped or cast. I have had scores of these over the years. I don't ever remember seeing a repro with repoussee work, as it would just be too labor intensive. IP: Logged
blakstone Posts: 493 Registered: Jul 2004	posted 04-01-2005 11:38 AM Labarbedor is absolutely correct that the item is an early 20th century reproduction with pseudo-marks on the bottom, and my eye agrees with his that the two marks on the rim are probably the French minimum (.800) fineness "ant" guarantee mark for imported items in use from 1893. However, your tea caddy is not Dutch but German, made by Ludwig Neresheimer & Co. of Hanau. I can't make out the first pseudo-mark, but second and third (the B and the pseudo-Augsburg pinecone) are definitely Neresheimer's. See this thread (Unknown marks) for a good link to more information on Hanau pseudo-marks. IP: Logged
lejardinsecret Posts: 3 Registered: Mar 2005	posted 04-01-2005 01:31 PM Thankyou very much gentlemen! the enigma has been solved and though it may be a relatively recent piece we like it and now we have its origins can appreciate it even more! For what we paid for it we cannot complain. Good luck and thank you for your time and insight. Kind Regards, Paul IP: Logged
labarbedor Posts: 353 Registered: Jun 2002	posted 04-01-2005 10:51 PM As always in the field of 19th c. European silver I yield to Blakstone's authority. Quite honestly I couldn't make out any but the last mark. A bit off the subject, I recently found most of the "Dutch" brass tobacco boxes everyone has been selling forever, are also in fact made in Germany for sale in Holland. Returning to the tea caddy, while it is a reproduction, it would sell for a good price, since most people who deal in this sort of thing don't seem to care about age or authenticity. IP: Logged

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