posted 09-04-2007 11:48 AM            

Hi everyone,

Just joined the Forum in despair - and hope.

I have inherited a small number of silver items with marks that I have never seen before and have been trying to find information on the internet, so now I'm confused on a higher level.

One item is a small standing bird - very beautiful

On the tail it has two marks, a star of David and something looking like an ant or a scorpion.

I have searched for the star of David and found numerous items on auctions, but no explanation.

Can anyone send me in the right direction looking for information on the combination of marks? Maybe some good search words?

There is one item on the Forum stating that the star of David was used by a Warzaw silversmith, but I have none of the other marks mentioned in that post.

Hope to hear from someone soon as I would like to find out where my little bird was born.

I hope this last picture will show - I'm not quite sure about the size.

Thank you in advance.

posted 09-04-2007 12:37 PM            

There is not much anyone can say without seeing some nice clear photos of your bird and its markings. There are so many markings that are similar that any answer without seeing the bird would have little confidence of being accurate. Also, keep in mind that a Star of David is not always a Star of David - it can also be just a plain six-pointed star.

When you add your photos to your posting, it would be helpful also to let us know a little more about your interest in silver and in your little bird in particular. Is he a part of your personal silver collection or are you researching in hopes of possibly selling it?

When you post your photos, please be sure to include both a nice clear photo or two of the overall bird plus a clear closeup photo of the markings. Please be sure to follow the directions about How to Post Photos including things like using the correct size of the photos and using UBB codes which are all explained in this link.

Thanks!

posted 09-04-2007 01:23 PM            

Sure hope I'm doing this right.

I have always been fascinated by silver, primarily jewellery but also cutlery. Recently I inherited a number of beautiful small silver items, of some age, and some of foreign origin.

I have been able to identify the German markings but there are a few to which I have no clues.

I choose to start with the bird because the markings were rather easy to get a clear photo from. The others are very small marks and partly erased.

I shall never sell the items. They are a reminder of a very close relation. Furthermore I have met the relative from who my friend inherited the items, so to me they are double remembrance.

And the mere thought of selling any of my silver hurts me badly. I love every piece.

posted 09-04-2007 01:57 PM            

I can't help you with these marks, with which I am not familiar, but the star does not look like a Star of David. The Star of David is a six-pointed star made of two intertwined equilateral triangles, and as Kimo says, all six-pointed stars are not the Star of David (The six-pointed star is an older and widely used symbol first adopted as the Star of David by the biblical House of David, then by other Jewish peoples, and now is the national symbol of the State of Israel). The star in the photo of your silver piece, although blurred, looks as if it is a five-pointed star, and so is not a Star of David; your internet search for it thus may have taken you astray.

posted 09-04-2007 02:14 PM            

I'm sorry - you are right, the star is 5-pointed, but I saw a picture much like it and they called it a star of David.

I'll try search for 5-pointed star instead, maybe that will bring better luck.

posted 09-04-2007 03:53 PM            

I found a Spanish site showing my ant as being the mark of a PASGORCY or at least it looked like a drawing of my ant.

Thank you so much - I should never have looked so far south without your help - especially as the item had been estimated German.