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Hi Trev, I agree, the set looks to be Japanese, probably made during the Occupation for service personnel or possibly, for export. The engraving is quintessentially Japanese. This combination of marks, with USF and "STERLING" along with a mark using a Chinese character, also looks Japanese...

I am not familiar with Armenian silver, but it is an interesting possibility. The calligraphy on the wall of the cup would seem to be for an Arab market, though. I agree with Warren, this cup reminds me of Turkish work from the first half of the 20th century, and the mix of Arab and Roman marks also...

Welcome to the Forum.

That is a jungin mark, see Japan in the Guide to World Hallmarks:

http://www.925-1000.com/foreign_marks3.html

The mark would be in proper orientation if the photo were rotated 90 degrees counter-clockwise.

Regards,

DR

Welcome to the Forum.

I believe that is a Persian / Iranian "84" mark, see the World Marks page:

http://www.925-1000.com/foreign_marks2.html

Once the post is moved to Middle East marks, someone else may be able to make out the maker's mark.

Regards,

DR

“Still nothing?”--yes, yes, I know just how you feel, that is what I have often said to myself, as have so many other Forum users. Of the small handful of queries I have posted during my time on the Forum, half have been answered with breathtaking speed, and the other half have sunk down the list of...

Hi Warren, No, I don't think you are one of those, either! And I don't doubt that your father encountered many things like this for sale during his tour of duty in the Far East in the 60s or 70s. Besides, I have heard that many GIs had R and R in Thailand during the Vietnam War, so it is quite plaus...

Out of pity for an object so terribly misunderstood, I believe the top line says "Silver 100%" in Thai, not American, writing! เงิน = "Sterling Silver" (in Thai) While I do not read Thai, I believe that the second line of writing on the beaker's bottom is also in that language, t...

THAILAND

The tongs are certainly in the right forum, but whether Chinese or Japanese may require further research. The tongs surely date from about 1895-1915, a time of intense borrowing (or perhaps copying) back and forth between Chinese and Japanese export silver makers vying for international trade. The i...

Kudos, FTJJ, most definitely helpful and a good addition to the CES marks page when it is updated. There seems to be an additional character beneath the 足纹 silver mark, it is mostly missing, but do you have an idea of what it might be? Only rarely do we see CES pieces bearing the mark of both the si...

Is this the only mark on the coaster? It is rather badly worn, so please post a photo of any marks on the second coaster. This type of coaster is usually used with teacups. Traditionally, a Japanese teacup has no handle and when filled with hot tea, it can be very difficult to pick up. The long ends...

It's a Tientsin maker.

Unfortunately, the maker's mark is partly obscured by the drill hole. Someone else may be familiar with this maker and recognize it.

Regards,
DR

There has already been some discussion on this Forum of the dragon motif in Chinese and Japanese art. Even if this style of dragon was introduced in the Ming Dynasty, that only tells us that the cup is no older than Ming, but it could be Qing, or even later. Ming designs are perpetually in fashion, ...

Looks to me like an amulet with a simple invocation written on the back in Sanskrit.

The 925 mark is very recent.

Regards
DR

Many thanks for posting great photos of a splendid object. The Chinese characters are, indeed, a jungin mark. It looks like "Musashiya" was restruck over a weak first impression. I am not completely certain that Musashiya was the only Japanese maker of enameled silver, but the similarity b...

These photos are better, but not good enough for me to make out the third Chinese character. Here is what I see: 原　(？)　天　寳 In the circle is probably the chop of the silver master: 徳 What follows is by no means an exhaustive list, just some likely candidates to the (?) character I cannot make out. Pe...

To the left, a Chinese silver purity mark, 足銀. To the right, 合 Shun He, probably a maker's mark. I have found no information on Shun He. Without knowing the dimensions, it is difficult to say much about this box. The tiger's eyes and nose look like they may have been inlaid with something like jade ...

Hello, There having been no comment on this post, let me make a few suggestions. First, as is often stated in the Forum, embedded images usually get a better response as many people will not open links. Second, the dimensions of the belt (in particular, the length) might help determine whether it wa...

Yes, Musashiya was one of the better makers of the same period, so it certainly could be their work.

Would it be possible to post photos of the parasol handle and the Musashiya mark?

Regards,
DR

I think the logical place to start would be Italy, insofar as the greatest demand for a reproduction of a classical Roman askos would be among tourists taking the grand tour of Europe. I am rather far afield commenting on anything European, but I believe that Italian museums began selling highly det...