posted 07-26-2004 01:06 PM            

We recently inherited this coffret a bijoux
and are trying to confirm that it is in fact from the 18th and not 19th century.

Is the first hallmark the french 1768-74
mint mark?

I forgot to mention that there are the images of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI on the top with inscriptions around each.
it measures about 16" x 12"

Thanks for any info on this piece as we
have no idea!

posted 07-27-2004 01:11 AM            

The likeliest culprit here is firm of Georg Roth. French-style swangs and portrait medallions are a rather distinctive feature of their output; moreover, I have seen the identical A, P and crowned fleur de lys on your item alongside Roth's genuine "crowned GR" mark on a few pieces.

The affixed label appears to be a dealer's tag; whether his mis-identification of the piece as "ancien régime" French is duplicitous or merely mistaken can only be conjectured. He is not, however, alone. Hanau silversmiths' works were sold even at the time as genuine antiques by unscrupulous dealers, and their pseudo-marks until quite recently have confounded even the experts at museums and major auction houses.

A fascinating précis of the subject by Dorthea Burstyn may be found in the Sep/Oct & Nov/Dec 1997 issues of "Silver" magazine, but the definitive work on the subject is Wolfgang Scheffler's "Goldschmiede Hessens" [Hessian Goldsmiths] (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1976)