Parcel gilt handled bowl, identify hallmark & origin

[judhael]

Howdy,
Below is a pic of the bowl. Raised and repousee chased to depict different flowers in the diamond-shaped reserve panels. Fully gilded inside.

The mark is inside the upper rim. There is a mark that looks like the letter "V" and a square mark that looks like an arched coronet (crown) over a central element (unidentified) and flanked by columns. <p>The bowl is 5 3/4 inches in diameter (excluding the handles) and is substantial, it weighs about 16 ounces troy. It has a mid-eastern look to it, but I am not certain. The bottom has a centering dot for raising and then a "rocker engraved" straight line about 2 inches long. There are no other marks and the antique shop where I bought this thought it was a "planter" so no help from the previous owner.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Judhael

[Hada]

Hello,

I can only surmise from the details that this piece may be either Russian or European as they were commonly-known to gilt pieces from the inside, unlike the workmanship of the Middle East. This is, was, not a common practice. Additionally, few kings wandered the Mid East. So it bespeaks more European. Seems an incense holder. Though the artistry is rudimentary, the craftsmanship is lovely.

Regards
Hada

[judhael]

Thank you Hada,

I have been suspecting that this might not be Mideastern since posting it here. I may move this posting to the European site to see what, if anything, it may garner there. The hallmark looks suspiciously like Colonial Spanish marks of Mexico. It has the Crowned Columns but lacks the "M" in the center. However, the bowl doesn't look like Colonial Spanish design, but rather more like Eastern European. The gilding is both inside and out and I have thought this was a mazer or kovsch type bowl.
Thank you again for you time and expertise.
Judhael

[admin]

Hi,
I've moved the post over here to Mexican, although it may be from another of the Spanish Colonial centers.
Unfortunately, I'm travelling and can't access Marcas de Plata Española y Virreinal, if anyone else has a copy please chime in. Offhand, I cannot remember all of the details of the early Mexico City mark, except for the columns, "M" and small letter "o" above the M on later examples, but the crown above does seem likely.
Your mark is fairly rubbed at the bottom, are you sure that an "M" cannot be there?
Below is an example from a c1750 Mexican gold plate in the collection of the Cathedral of Sevilla, Spain. This mark is also rubbed, forgive the image quality, the photo was taken in a dark room at a distant object behind glass, kind of amazed it came out at all. Just for sport, I've superimposed the two mark images together. Curious to see where this leads.
Regards, Tom

[2209patrick]

Hello everyone.

Here's some early Mexican quality marks from Leona Davis Boylan's book "Spanish Colonial Silver".

The marks similar to yours are described as the columns of Hercules crowned (adapted from the Spanish Arms).
The crowned M mark without the columns and the O over M mark appear to be later marks.




The Spanish flag with the national coat of arms that includes the royal seal framed by the Pillars of Hercules, which are the two promontories (Gibraltar and Ceuta) on either side of the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar.

Pat.

[judhael]

Gents! I think we have a match! The marks on the extreme right of the site administrators photos are an almost identical match...and if I squint just right I can imagine the M below that somewhat unusual central motif (a helm?) Then 2209 Patrick chimes in with another example of the mark more clearly marked than my example (my bowl was hallmarked inside the rim, thus the stamp was held at a bit of an angle and the lower part of the mark didn't "take") and the top mark of his posting shows clearly the mark that I am expecting to see when I look at my piece, I just was unaware of what that little blurb just between the columns could be...but now it appears to be a helm of some sort, perhaps a different item, but my piece has the same device (it sort of looks like an old fashioned sock puppet with the "mouth" open facing left). There is an additional mark on the bottom of the rim foot. I at first thought that it was file marks from some philistine testing to see if this was silver, but it looks too much like initials and the triangle mark repeated. I post it here for potential further comments and in case it may help others in their search for answers.
Thank you very much for those 3 who chose to respond, this is by far the most fun I have had with a piece of silver for a long time. Keep an eye out! I have a thistle cup that I think is Spanish Colonial (I now own 3 pieces, the third being a rather "fat friar" of a mug) with 2 nice hallmarks.