www.925-1000.com

I am hoping someone has a source for maker's marks that I don't have.
This is a cup and saucer. Please pay attention to the style. The marks are LB with a star above and a flower in between. The 1863-1893 import mark, the 1840-1879 export mark, and some of the countermarks. I have found the same maker's mark on a Russian site, improperly attributed to Louis Barteling. If you look at the flower, and more important it's placement, you should see it is not the same, outside of the fact that his mark wasn't registered until 1900, etc. etc.
I think I know where this was made, but I want to see if anyone thinks the same, and can of course identify the maker, which I can't.
Maurice

Hello,
The mark is that of Louis-Benoit Bachelet, 58 quai des Orfèvres, Paris (1844-1877).
Symbol : a star over a pansy (une pensée surmontée d'une étoile).
Successor of Quentin Bachelet.
Regards

Thanks, I was hoping you would run across this, any explanation for the import mark? I hope you noticed the similarity to 18th C.
Strasbourg "tulip" beakers. The applied decoration, the engraving, and of course the pinched corner shape.
Maurice

Hi,
The weevil (charançon) mark on your item refers to the period 1838-1864. Probably the cup and saucer was exported first from France and reimported at a later date.
There is also a bigorne mark countermark, which means that at the reverse side you should find a 'Minerva's head' mark.
Robert

I thought my photos were better than that. The importation mark is in an oval, which means it was from 1864 -1893. All the counter marks are opposite this or the export mark, mercury head. There are no minerva marks. I see your point about exported then imported, odd though
Muarice

Indeed, the import mark is in an oval and refers to the period 1864-1893.
Robert

Francais wrote:I thought my photos were better than that. The importation mark is in an oval, which means it was from 1864 -1893. All the counter marks are opposite this or the export mark, mercury head. There are no minerva marks. I see your point about exported then imported, odd though
Muarice

Not very odd to have an import mark. Some nineteenth century French silver manufacturers made items specifically for export, as the Mercury head mark shows. The importer undoubtedly had a contract whereby the manufacturer would take back unsold lots. As for style, your cup and saucer are good examples of nineteenth century eclecticism — a little bit of everything — making for their charm.