Miniature Silver Handled Mug or Cup

[MomTut]

Thank you for any help you may be able to provide. I admit I am clueless about silver. I was once a miniature collector which is why I have this piece. I have looked at mark after mark and still clueless about country of origin even.



It measures 1 and 5/8 inches tall.

It appears to be signed but the mark is faintly stamped at the edges and thus only partial.

First there is a G with the (partial) word ASINO or ASINU or ISINU or USINO below.

There is also a hallmark. It is a square. It is so tiny that even with magnification I can only assume that is is a profile of a man's head. When you turn it upside down, it looks like a rooster. Next to the head or the rooster is an N8 or (upside down) an 8N. The 8 and the N are on top of each other.



The bottom has been scratched, it appears intentionally so. I see no evidence of a base metal and do believe it is solid though if this needs to be moved I will accept my punishment gracefully.

Thank you!

[MomTut]

Yikes. I just realized how fuzzy that pic of the base is. I'm sorry. Maybe I can get a better one posted shortly.

[admin]

Hi,
Believe that is a mark used in Naples (Napoli), Italy, late 18th thru mid 19th cent. The piece looks early 19th but I'm sure someone else can date it more exactitude.
Could certainly use a good image of the mark for use on the website, so please do try for a clearer shot.
Thanks, Tom

[MomTut]

Hi Tom, thank you for the reply. I never would have imagined it to be that old. That it may be Italian does makes sense though.

I spent 20 minutes looking for my camera before remembering that it went on a day trip with the rest of the family but I can and will post a better photo of the marks tomorrow or as soon as possible.

I just looked at your Italian marks again and yes, the first one does look like mine though the head is facing a different direction and there is no N. I can't believe I missed that the first time around.

Do you know the purpose of this sort of thing? Was it just decorative or used for tiny shots of something yummy?

[blakstone]

Napoli is correct; this mark was used there from 1832 to 1873. The bust is that of Partenope, mythological queen of Naples. "8" is the standard, and stood for .833. (Standards 1-6 were for gold; the only silver standards were 7 [.916] and 8 [.833].)

The "N" stands not for Naples but for "nostrali" ("ours"), and was used on locally made items, as opposed to an "E" ("estero" = "foreign") which was used on imported items. The bar across the "N" is the mark of assayer Gennaro Mannara, working 1835-1863.

The maker's mark is worn, but identifiable as that of Gabriele Sisnio (you can make out the lower half of a "G" above the "SI"). Active from 1830, he was a prolific maker of both civil and liturgical silver, best known for his teasets.

In short: Gabriele Sisnio, Napoli, 1835-1863. Given its similarity to a keg, I think it's probably a shot cup.

Hope this helps!

[blakstone]

Correction: maker's name is spelled SISINO, not SISNIO. Sorry about that.

[MomTut]

Thank you so very much, Blakstone! I'm thrilled that you could see all that in my crummy photo of the marks though I know you probably don't even need to see marks when you carry them around in your knowledge banks.

Now that I look at it again, I do see the bar across the N and Sisino makes so much more sense than anything I came up with.

It both boggles my mind and fascinates me that something made so long ago so far away would end up in a West Coast thrift store. I suppose that is one reason I am addicted to thrift stores. You never know what you will find.

Tom, I have my camera back but am a little behind due to the holiday but I promise to post better photos of the marks as soon as possible.

Thanks for a great forum!

[MomTut]

Argh. Why does everything look great until you upload it to Photobucket?

Tom, are these useable and useful? If not, let me know and I will try again.

[admin]

Thanks, they're just fine as is, appreciate the effort.
Regards, Tom

[MomTut]

You're welcome.

Thank you too!