French marks on this viniagrette?

[Palladian]

Hello All,

I own this small silver "vinaigrette" which bears marks that I have been unable to identify. I was given this item long ago and told that it was French, but an exhaustive search of French marks, provincial and otherwise, proved fruitless. I have also looked at several sources of European marks from many other countries and found no correlation to these marks. If anyone has any information about these marks and can point me in the correct direction, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for looking at these images and for any information anyone can provide.

Regards,

P

[blakstone]

These marks on the left and right are generally associated the firm of Rehfues & Co. in Bern, Switzerland, founded by Georg Adam Rehfues (1784-1858) in 1815 and continued by his son Philipp Rudolf Rehfues (1820-1866) after his death. These don't appear to have been official state-sponsored control marks, but rather more like company trademarks (though the mark on the left — a bear — is the symbol of the city of Bern).

The center mark — the “S” — is new to me, but it is similar to a mark used by Bern silversmith Heinrich Schmid (1812-1890) which shows up occasionally on pieces alongside Rehfues’ marks. Moreover, the design of this piece, with its flutes and lobes, is markedly similar to some Rehfues/Schmid pieces around 1850.

So while I can’t find this exact combination of marks anywhere, I am sure that your piece is from Bern, Switzerland around 1850, and probably by Rehfues & Co. or Heinrich Schmid.

Hope this helps!

Ref: Hanspeter Lanz, Weltliches Silber 2, (Zurich: Schweitzerische Nationalmuseen, 2001), pp. 425-427

[Palladian]

Thanks very much for the information, blakstone! I was always skeptical at the idea that this was a French piece. From the information you've provided, I've been able to look at several other pieces by Rehfues & Co. and several of them feature finely-detailed animals as finials, just like my vinaigrette. I was only able to find an image of one piece by Heinrich Schmid, but it had lobes and a similar symmetry to my piece. I wonder if Schmid did work for Rehfues & Co...

Again, many thanks for leading me in the right direction!