www.925-1000.com

This 2cm X 2cm Broach/badge would be assumed to be German. However it appears to have English marks, the date mark appears to be more like 1786 than 1906. The Makers mark could ALLE or ALLM.
Can anyone suggest a history for this piece?

Click on thumbs for a larger photo.

Thanks in advance.

Peter

Birmingham, 1910, Sterling Silver. The "ALL" mark does not appear to be a maker's mark; any English maker would have had a more defined "Stamp" mark. Suggest it may be the importer (sponsor) of the piece. No maker would tend to suggest it was bound for foreign shores. 1786 is incorrect as there is no Duty Mark (plus that date is a Capital N!)

Waylander

Thanks Waylander.
I got confused over the London/Birmingham marks. (!) (Never thought it was 1736 just that the mark was closer to the one for that date)
So we may presume it was made in the UK for export. I wonder by who and for who?

Thanks,

Peter

Please understand that the the swastika or fylfot has been a decorative motif and symbol of good luck in many different cultures for centuries, dating back as far as ancient Mesopotamia, India and Tibet. Native Americans refer to it as "whirling logs", though most Indian artisans stopped using it after it was appropriated by the Nazis. Nordic and Baltic cultures called it a "thunder cross" and considered it a symbol of the thunder-god Thor (also called Donner or Perkunus). The name "swastika" is generally believed to be from Sanskrit, meaning something along the lines of "well-being"; "hakenkreutz" (hooked cross) is the correct name for the Nazi symbol, first used in the 1920s. Given the 1910 dating of this piece, would guess it has no connection to Germany at all. A shame that what was probably once a charming "good-luck" momento for someone is now associated with evil.

Cheryl ;o)

Dragonflywink.
Thanks for your erudite piece on the swastika broach, which I heartily endorse. It was because of the background of the swastika as a symbol of peace and good luck that I did not make claims of association with Germany. But it would be nice to know more about it and it is indeed a shame it is likely to be misunderstood if worn, it therefore being consigned to my bottom drawer.

Peter

Couldn't the ALL mean Allemagne, or Germany?

jhcuratola
It could indeed, the fourth indistinct mark after ALL is a shame. If ALL is a German inport mark as suggested by Waylander has anyone seen such marks elsewhere?
Peter

I just recently sold a spoon, handcrafted by Native Americans with a swastika on it, and it is very common actually - here is the website I referenced - http://www.crystalinks.com/swastika.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - so the pre-dating factor, meaning pre-Hitler, does hold water, since the symbol was used by MANY cultures.
Jennifer