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 bodkin maker ID help
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| Author | Topic: bodkin maker ID help |
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witzhall Posts: 124 |
posted 07-05-2006 06:47 PM
  
[01-2494] Hello, all - My friend just acquired this interesting little item and asked if I could tell her anything about it. I had never even heard of a bodkin, never mind seen one - so I admitted my ignorance. But, I told her, I know where to ask! It is just under 6 3/8 inches long and 11/16" at the widest point. I looked in McGrew and Rainwater, but found nothing similar to what looks like a torch with an "S" beside it. In fact, I have no reason to be sure that it is silver, although it looks and feels like that metal. Any information will be most gratefully received! TIA - IP: Logged |
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blakstone Posts: 493 |
posted 07-05-2006 10:05 PM
I think your bodkin - used for pulling a ribbon or cord through a casing and/or eyelets - is Italian, last quarter 19th century. The lower mark is wown, but appears to be the head of "Italia Turrita" (literally "towered Italy", but depicting the Roman Goddess of cities, Cybele, who wears a crown of towers). This mark was used on small .800 silver items in the newly unified Kingdom of Italy, from 1 Jun 1873 to 24 Apr 1935. The maker's mark is entirely consistent with Italian maker's marks of the 19th century, particularly those in Milan and Venice: a circular mark with a device and two initials. I couldn't find it in Donaver & Dabbene's "Argenti italiani dell'800", but many of the marks there are merely described and not illustrated, so with the left initial missing and the device itself in question ( a flame, perhaps, but I see an artichoke!), I may be overlooking it. Hope this helps! [This message has been edited by blakstone (edited 07-05-2006).] IP: Logged |
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swarter Moderator Posts: 2920 |
posted 07-05-2006 11:11 PM
For a French example, see this thread (needlecase date). IP: Logged |
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witzhall Posts: 124 |
posted 07-06-2006 10:36 AM
Thank you, blakstone, for your fact-filled and thoughtful response. (I can see the artichoke, too!) I appreciate very much that you have the knowledge of what to look for and where to look, and the willingness to share that. And swarter, I actually did my homework [This message has been edited by witzhall (edited 07-06-2006).] IP: Logged |
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swarter Moderator Posts: 2920 |
posted 07-07-2006 10:37 AM
quote:. Actually, the link was intended as much for the benefit of other readers. For future reference, it is always helpful to them (and to us) to include links to such threads in one's post, once they have been found. IP: Logged |
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blakstone Posts: 493 |
posted 08-31-2006 10:05 PM
I just read this fascinating article (ITALIAN SILVER HAIR-PIN: THE 'SPERADA') which reveals your item to be not a bodkin at all, but a much rarer "spadinn": an ornamental Italian betrothal hairpin! Live and learn . . . IP: Logged |
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swarter Moderator Posts: 2920 |
posted 08-31-2006 11:00 PM
So it is, so it is. Good find - thanks for posting it. IP: Logged |
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FWG Posts: 845 |
posted 09-01-2006 09:31 AM
"Fascinating" is no exaggeration. I thought at the time I had never seen a bodkin (ribbon threader) of quite that form. Checking my dictionary (American Heritage), I see ribbon threader listed as the second definition for bodkin, after the first as a sort of awl for making holes in fabric or leather--but the third is "a long hairpin, usually with an ornamental head." So perhaps bodkin, in a different sense, is an appropriate term in English, although clearly in this case "spadinn" would be best. One of the most infamous uses of a bodkin came from early colonial Virginia, where a bodkin shoved through the tongue was listed as punishment for a second instance of blasphemy--and the same punishment was inflicted on a man who stole food: quote: IP: Logged |
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witzhall Posts: 124 |
posted 09-01-2006 03:43 PM
blakstone, that article (and subsequent identification) is a remarkable find - who knew! Thanks so much for passing it along. IP: Logged |
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before posting the question by searching on "bodkin," so I had seen the thread you referenced. My friend wishes that her bodkin were as decorated as the French one, but she is very grateful to know more about hers, as am I.