Unkown mark on Art Noveau silver - SMP Silver Salon Forums

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Unkown mark on Art Noveau silver

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Author	Topic: Unkown mark on Art Noveau silver
cliftont Posts: 6 Registered: Jan 2004	posted 01-04-2004 06:31 PM [01-1362] I have a sterling piece with a mark C with a small m? or a inside and an extended L?. The L extends from the m and then down much like a lighting bolt. The small piece 2 x 1 1/2" work is of a boy painting at an easel with the obverse of two types of leaves. Any ideas? Thanks IP: Logged
mdhavey Posts: 164 Registered: Dec 2003	posted 01-05-2004 11:16 PM It's beautiful. Is it a plaque of some kind? Perhaps it was an inset into something bigger. Do you have a close up picture of the mark? IP: Logged
cliftont Posts: 6 Registered: Jan 2004	posted 01-05-2004 11:40 PM In the center of the C is either A or M. IP: Logged
cliftont Posts: 6 Registered: Jan 2004	posted 01-05-2004 11:52 PM The reverse of the plaque IP: Logged
vathek Posts: 966 Registered: Jun 99	posted 01-06-2004 07:17 AM This may be a French art medallion. Looks like there is a reserve for an inscription. IP: Logged
Patrick Vyvyan Posts: 640 Registered: May 2003	posted 01-06-2004 07:51 AM One possibility for your medal is: Alexandre Louis Marie Charpentier (born in Paris, 1856-1909) became assistant of the medal engraver Ponscarme in 1875. His first exhibition at the Salon took place in 1879, a year later he had his first success when Alexandre Dumas bought one his statues. Charpentier was one of the founders of "Les Cinq", a group which played an important part in development of Art Nouveau. He was awarded a Grand Prix at the Universal Exhibition in 1900. This was followed almost immediately by the receipt of the Legion of Honor. Apart from medals, Charpentier designed also sculptures, furniture and pottery. Here is his signature on another medal: My guess is that your medal was a prize for an art society or art school. Is there anything stamped on the rim of the medal? IP: Logged
Arg(um)entum Posts: 304 Registered: Apr 2002	posted 01-06-2004 10:48 AM Interesting! Some questions: Cliftont: I see no maker's or fineness mark. How did you conclude that it is of silver, specifically sterling? In the pictures the reverse appears considerably crisper than the front. Is that in fact so, or is it just the result of photography? Patrick: This item is smaller than all others I found by A.C.; taking also into account Vathek's observation of a reserve, could this be a reduced size commercial repro? IP: Logged
cliftont Posts: 6 Registered: Jan 2004	posted 01-06-2004 11:12 AM The prior owner of this medal was the daughter of an artist who was awarded several medals circa 1900 at the Academie Julian in Paris. I was to slow to recognize the obvious. An edge-mark is stamped - Cornucopia- ARGENT which idicated gold or silver. I only found this mark after reviewing the prior responses of the astonishing scholars who haved displayed so much expertise are so generous in sharing their knowledge. IP: Logged
Paul Lemieux Posts: 1792 Registered: Apr 2000	posted 01-06-2004 12:06 PM Argent is the French word for silver. Many French silver medals are marked this way with another mark (e.g. cornucopia) that can help date it. IP: Logged
Arg(um)entum Posts: 304 Registered: Apr 2002	posted 01-06-2004 08:50 PM Great! I still wonder about it being a reduced edition derived from an earlier larger medal, but the cornucopia + ARGENT indicate that it was struck by the Paris mint presumably in type I silver (.950 vs. .925 for Sterling). IP: Logged
Kimo Posts: 1627 Registered: Mar 2003	posted 01-14-2004 02:30 PM French medals and plaquettes are a fascinating field for collecting and studying. There are thousands of different ones and most of the well known and lesser known sculptors and artists from the 1800s through 1900s designed them. Some were done as awards and many more were done as small "artworks" for the masses to be sold to people who had an interest in either the subject matter or just in collecting them. They are still somewhat popular to collect today, especially since most of them can be purchased for very modest sums. The down side to these, though, is so many have been restruck over the decades and it can be downright difficult to tell whether a particular example is from the period or is only a later re-strike from the old dies. Provenance is one way to tell, as are hand engraved citations on those medals that were used as awards or presentation items. Since yours has a blank field for the engraving, it may be (though certainly not for sure) either a restrike or one of the ones that was made for selling to the general public. IP: Logged

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