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 SMP Silver Salon Forums
 Continental / International Silver
 Identifying a hallmark
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| Author | Topic: Identifying a hallmark |
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mitiruler Posts: 2 |
posted 09-11-2004 08:40 PM
  
[01-1731] Hello out there. I am very curious about a piece of silver or silverplate that has been in my possession for quite a while. I have had no luck identifying the maker and hope I can get some help here on this Forum. Pictures to follow. IP: Logged |
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blakstone Posts: 493 |
posted 09-13-2004 11:33 AM
Your tea/coffee pot is indeed silver, not silverplate, and was made in Portugal in the 1870’s. The zigzig mark – called by the peculiar name “diet” – is a scratch mark made when an assay master removed a bit of the metal with a rowel-like device in order to test it and insure that it met legal standard. If the piece did so, the assay master would then affix his mark, in this case, the crowned “P”. This was the mark used by José Rodrigues Teixeira of the city of Porto (sometimes Oporto), Portugal during his tenure as Deputy Assay Master of the Porto guild: 1870-ca.1877. (He became Chief Assay Master around 1877.) The most common legal standard in Portugal at the time was 11 dinheiros, or .917, though a lesser standard of .834 was occasionally permitted; I think it is safe to assume your pot is at least the lower of these. “Francisco/AM” is clearly the manufacturer’s mark, but I confess I am unfamiliar with them. Doubtless you can find more information in either “Marcas de Contrastes e Ourives Portugueses, v. I: 15th C.-1887” ( Lisbon: Imprensa Nacional, 1996 by Manuel Gonçalves Vidal or “Inventário de Marcas De Pratas Portuguesas e Brasileiras, século XV a 1887” (Lisbon: Imprensa Nacional, 1993) by Fernando Moitinho De Almeida, which are the two definitive texts on the subject of the Portuguese silver makers & marks. IP: Logged |
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mitiruler Posts: 2 |
posted 09-14-2004 06:53 PM
Thank you for your speedy reply. I am very tickled to know about this coffee/tea pot. I feel very lucky to have found this forum and want to let you know I really appreciate your help. Jane IP: Logged |
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bascall Posts: 1629 |
posted 11-16-2008 01:04 PM
This is a nice piece of silver that has a good write up with it that might be interesting to some (myself included) as a review. IP: Logged |
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blakstone Posts: 493 |
posted 11-16-2008 11:32 PM
Having obtained a copy of the 4th edition of Marcas de Contrastes e Ourives Portugueses since this was posted, I can add that the maker is Francisco António Monteiro, who was working in Porto in the last quarter of the 19th century. IP: Logged |
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