c1880-1893 European Silver Large Caster / Shaker Dutch c1750s Style

Description

c1880-1893 European Silver Large Caster / Shaker Dutch c1750s Style
Presented is a fantastic quality European silver caster or shaker. This piece dates to the late 1800s, around 1880-1893, but it is made in a much older style, emulating Dutch pieces from the 1740s-1760s or possibly even reproducing a specific piece from that time frame. The caster is beautifully decorated with a a design of quatrefoils inside a trellis-like border around the body, with gadrooning around the base and around the bottom of the lid. The lid is beautifully pierced with little diamonds, circles, and trefoils as well as other intricate engraved and openwork designs. The side of the caster has a very detailed crest, showing a shield quartered with crowns and saltire crosses, supported by two lions and topped with another saltire between a double-headed eagle and an armored leg. This crest may be for someone who owned this piece, or it might have been the crest on the specific piece this item was emulating. The caster closes with a very clever bayonet style mechanism, where the body of the caster has a single notch and the lid has two matching little protrusions. You close the caster by slipping one protrusion through the notch and then turning the lid until the opposite protrusion slips through as well. As long as the lid is turned so neither protrusion lines up with the notch, the lid is quite secure.
This piece is in great condition. The details of the design are nice and crisp. There are no splits, no dents, no monograms, no monogram removals, and no repairs.
The underside of the caster is stamped with Dutch pseudo-hallmarks, including one like the city mark for Rotterdam in the mid 1700s, which is the time period this piece is emulating in design. The AHI mark is a Dutch maker's mark or retailer's mark. There is also a fish/dolphin shaped assay/import mark, as it was used 1859-1893, indicating that the piece was assayed below 833 purity and taxed. This mark appears on both the lid and on the underside. Given that it is seen on imported pieces, this piece was likely made by a Hanau German maker (known for reproductions and using pseudo-marks) and imported, though sometimes the mark is seen on Dutch pieces locally made at an earlier date. The piece has been tested with nitric acid and is about 800 purity silver.
The caster stands about 8 3/4 inches tall.
This piece weighs 389 grams or 13.7 regular ounces.
-jm
Powered by SixBit's eCommerce Solution