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Help With 925 Kiddush Cup & Underplate Maker - Israeli?
Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 5:05 pm
by ellen324
Hi-
Can anyone identify the makers mark on this gorgeous 925 kiddush cup & underplate set? I've searched everywhere, but can't find anything even remotely similar.
I'm not sure what the country of origin might be - Israel?
The detailing is incredible...
Thanks In Advance,
Ellen
Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 5:28 pm
by admin
I believe that is one of the marks employed by Hazorfim, a fairly large Israeli firm. If you'd like to find out for sure, suggest you google the name, and contact them through their website.
Regards, Tom
Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 1:48 pm
by ellen324
Hi Tom
As always, thanks for your help and suggestion. I emailed Hazorfim this morning about it.
Best Regards,
Ellen
Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 pm
by ellen324
Hi Tom -
After sending them photos over the weekend, Hazorfim got back to me this morning about the ID on these pieces.
Apparently they don't keep / haven't kept actual records of marks and designs. I was told that the oldest working employee of the firm (he's been there 40 years) had been consulted and that he "had no recollection of that particular mark"; as far as he could recall, their marks had always completely spelled out the Hazorfim name. Also, as the grapes theme was a common one, they couldn't definitely say if it had been their design or not. Oh well....
Any other ideas on who it might be?
Regards,
Ellen
Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 4:10 am
by kozy845
It's too bad that Hazorfim did not keep records of their marks. So I think you might get a kick out of this. I found an item for sale that is marked Hazorfim. If you look closely you can see that although your mark only has the HZM the style of the letters are the same in both marks.
Do you see how the H is on a slant and how the Z is in upper case even though it is in the middle of the word? Coincidence or might their be a relationship here? I had fun with this one.
Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 6:52 pm
by basilikon
Hi, kozy845,
I myself just purchased some HaZorfim silver items (kiddush cup, candlesticks), and while I have a question about them, I'll post that in a separate thread.
Just an FYI, the Z is HaZorfim is capital because the "Ha" part of the word is the definite article "the". The Z is the initial in the noun Zorfim, which incidentally, means "goldsmiths" or "jewellers". My guess is that the craftsmen who originated the abbreviated mark "HZm" took advantage of the capitalisation scheme in transliterating words and just ran with it.
°B°