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posted 02-03-2007 07:40 PM            

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Here is an early 19C silver box from Nuremburg. It is only about 1 1/2" L x 1 1/8" W x 1/4" deep. It has a jump ring, so it was made for hanging as a pendant or from a chatelaine. The inside features a small framed paper inscribed "Fraue auf Gott! Ehre deine Eltern! Liebe deinen Nächsten!" (Which I believe roughly means Faith in God, Honor your parents, Love your neighbors). The bottom of the inside is lined with red velvet which is original.

It isn't for a photograph, but I wonder what its use is. It could be for holding a lock of hair or some other memento. Any ideas?

Also, the mark in the center, which seems to be the maker's mark, is indecipherable to me.

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posted 02-03-2007 08:35 PM            

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Paul,

The first word begins with "T" not "F" for
"Traue Gott" or "Trust in God."

Given the inscription and its origin in Catholic Bavaria, I wonder if it was not intented for some sacred object like a scapular.

Tom

[This message has been edited by tmockait (edited 02-03-2007).]

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posted 02-04-2007 12:13 AM            

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I suspect that this was sold interchangably as a 'pyx' and a 'reliquery'. The pyx is used to carry a consecrated host. It is either then given to someone home bound or opened and used in the adoration of the host. A reliquery is used to carry a relic of a saint, usually a third class relic.

When I researched contemporary liturgical silver, I did find quite a few of them. None were as exquisitly done as yours though.

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posted 02-04-2007 04:08 AM            

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The shape of this is not like any pyx I have seen, and it just doesn't look like something one would use for a reliquary. Most reliquaries seem to have been made around the relic, whereas this looks more like something one would first buy and then place an "after-market" memento in. The velvet lining seems to have an ovoid impression on it, as if something oval had been stored upon it for a long time...this is somewhat visible in one of my pictures.

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posted 02-04-2007 09:24 AM            

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Possibly a rosary case? These are sometimes used to carry one's rosary so that it's always accessible. I've seen amazingly small ones (although more usually oval, form the ones I've seen). That could leave an oval mark, as it would likely be carefully coiled before storing.

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posted 02-04-2007 01:31 PM            

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The inscription seems more apt for a layperson's sacred item than a pyx for communion waffers. I think rosary box is the best candidate. These boxes were often given as first communion gifts, and the inscription seems to fit. What better religious instruction for a child than "trust in God, honor your parents, and lover your neighbors?". [This message has been edited by tmockait (edited 02-04-2007).]

[This message has been edited by tmockait (edited 02-04-2007).]

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posted 02-04-2007 06:57 PM            

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Rosary case sounds like the best candidate so far. Although it would have been an incredibly tiny rosary, since the interior is only 2.5mm deep with the lid closed. I don't know anything about rosaries, do they come that small?

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posted 02-04-2007 11:35 PM            

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It occurs to me that, but for the paper insert and velvet lining, there's nothing particularly ecclesiastical about this item and nothing to indicate that it's anything more than a simple locket. I think that's what it is and was transformed by the purchaser into a sacremental gift for a First Communion or Confirmation, perhaps to hold a medal of one's patron saint? I agree that it is certainly not a pyx, and probably not a rosary case, either. (Again, ignoring the card and lining, its size suggests a stamp box, hardly large enough to hold even the smallest rosary.)

In any event, the maker's mark is a conjoined script "GH" -shown in its correct orientation in the first photo with the "N" city and "13" fineness mark - for the late 18th century Nurmeburg maker Georg Wilhelm Hirschmann, whose workshop continued well into the first half of the 19th century. I think your early 19th century dating is spot on, 1815-1825 or so.

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posted 02-05-2007 12:10 AM            

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blakstone--thanks for the reply, which was very helpful vis-à-vis the markings. Your suggestion about this being "converted" into something pertaining to religion makes a lot of sense to me also.

I suppose when this was purchased, the buyer could have put anything s/he wanted in the little frame...a portrait miniature, a different inscription, etc. The frame around the inscription card actually lifts up (it is hinged along the top edge). The card, which is inscribed with a dark, silvery ink on thick, glossy stock (FYI, it is not hand-inscribed), appears to be glued to the frame. It may have even been cut out from a calling card or some other pre-existing source.

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posted 02-05-2007 11:21 AM            

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The smallest rosary case I've had was about the size of my (not so large) thumbnail, and had a simple floral design. But it was oval. I've had several small rectangular ones, about postage stamp size. (The rosaries that go into these are really cute.)

But I'd be perfectly happy to see this as an adaptation of a locket, whether for a rosary or saint's medal....

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posted 02-05-2007 05:01 PM            

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Perhaps the oval object that was apparently placed in this box was a saint's medal. That would probably account for the indentation in the velvet better than a tiny rosary.

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