Mysterious silver treasure on display in Prague City Museum

[AG2012]

Around 21,000 silver objects were found in November 2008 in an apartment building in the district of Smíchov when three Ukrainian workers, who had been hired to do the job, discovered a secret room under the stairs full of dusty metal objects. They first called TV reporters to the site, apparently unaware of just what they had come across.


Two years after the discovery, the police closed the case without having established the treasure’s owner or their heirs. However, some of the objects, marked with silversmith’s hallmark, provide a clue for the curators to determine who the owner of the mysterious treasure might have been. The treasure was hidden in 1947 or 1948 because among the objects were also some newspapers from 1947. The owner was possibly afraid of the communists, and thought his property could be confiscated.
“These objects feature the hallmark VA. We believe it’s the monogram of the producer, Alois Vokurka``
But Czech names follow the Western naming orders of given name + family name (except in Hungarian and in some German-speaking regions, e. g. the Bavarian and Austrian Alps).
Full article is here:
http://www.radio.cz/en/section/czech-hi ... ity-museum
Several years ago I posted perfume bottle which obviously came from the same workshop but the mark was not identified (a bird, beak down, facing right and number 1 above it).

Perfume bottle from Prague:


My perfume bottle and the link for this forum:
http://925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic.php ... ant#p74240




The bird mark remains a mystery.
Regards

[dognose]

Hi AG2012,

That's an amazing story, thank you for sharing this with us.

Trev.

[AG2012]

New info added by The Prague Museum.
VA maker`s mark, as suspected,does not belong to the silversmith Alois Vokurka, but to the silversmith Václav Adamec. 
VA can be found together with the hallmark of the Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia silverware objects of the treasure. Perhaps Václav Adamec collaborated with another maker (shared the same workroom?),i.e. the silversmith with mark JT.
Both marks (VA and JT) are separately marked on hundreds of perfume bottles with the same basic form (shape) depicted here. But unlike mine , no bird mark is present on the objects of "Silver treasure``.
I am inclined to believe it is a maker`s or retailer`s mark and they are not well documented. Number 1, on the other hand, is often seen in marks of various countries to indicate silver fineness (standard) but seldom, if ever, in maker`s mark. All said, the bird mark remains a mystery.

[morlak52]

The bird mark remains a mystery.
The bird mark is not a mystery for me!
It is an import hallmark for silver that was official in NDH (Independent State of Croatia) in WWII period from 1941.-1945. It was widely used here and can be find on different object such as silver cups, cigarette boxes and powder doses mostly from German origin. You will find this hallmarks nowhere on Internet because NDH has an negative image (due to wrong side in WW") and Yugoslavia as follower of authority on Croatian territory erased all signs of regular life in mentioned period.

[dognose]

Hi morlak52,

Welcome to the Forum.

Thanks for updating this interesting topic, it is very much appreciated.

Trev.

[AG2012]

Hi,
Unfortunately that`s not Croatian ``goose`` mark discussed here:
http://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=44789

Yugoslavia ``rooster`` mark was replaced by ``goose`` mark during WWII. The fineness was indicated with Roman numerals I, II and III.
Number on the right most likely indicates assay office (being number 1, I suppose it stands for the capital Agram).
There is no doubt about this mark in regard of its origin and dating, being found on Nazi Croatia Silver Medal of the Crown of King Zvonimir with Oak Leaves (the link above).

Both marks shown to compare.
Was it an import mark ? Not very likely because ``goose`` mark was found on cutlery (most likely of German origin) discussed here:
http://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic ... tia#p63105

Do you have examples of the ``bird`` mark to show ?

Regards

[AG2012]

On the other hand, it makes sense for import mark with numeral ``1`` for Agram assay office.
It would be appreciated if you could show us the mark on items imported to Croatia. Thank you.
Regards