Silver Viola da Gamba charm

[94Clusiere]

This is a silver viola da gamba or bass (technically one could confuse it with the violin... and it may have been designed as such, but the actual proportions are more like a baroque bass of some sort). It has two hallmarks, which I tried to photograph as best I could. Also seems that it was gold plated, but the plating seems to be wearing thin. I believe it is french, and the hallmark on right vaguely resembles Gustave Picault... but the B TE I cannot find any documentation for. Any help on its make or origin would be appreciated.

[silverly]

Someone with more expertise than myself can probably help you out with this, but just as a question, could the Bte mean breveté which I think may be something like patented?

[admin]

Yep, bte. is for brevete, the item is a keychain and the mechanism is copyrighted or patented. Not sure how to explain how it works, but the chain will fit into the + on the disk to form a sort of lariat - know that's clear as mud - just play around with it.

Regards, Tom

[94Clusiere]

Any idea about the makers mark?

[admin]

The photo of the maker's mark does not really allow for an identification.