I'd love some info on (or even where I can research in depth):
1. How to tell the age/era?
Is the shape of the base indicative of any time period (versus the pitchers with the little feet), etc.
Do the markings tell you anything? Was this type of engaging or etching common of a certain time, or only used after a certain date of invention, etc.
Does the awkward/poor style of stamping of the 960 mean this was likely very old, before better stamping techniques were found, or is it likely just a cheap tourist piece from 20 years ago, etc.?
2. Does anything about the style, shape, details, etc. tell you anything about where this might have been from? My family is part Austrian and we have some old beer steins that must be 80+ years old now, and they have a certain style to them with etched and monogramed glass. They look very distinctive of being from Austria/Germany, and have many similar patterns and details that tend to match other vintage Austrian pieces we have... Can anything about this vase help me figure out where is might be from? (In addition to, or aside from the 960 stamp, which may or may not mean it is 960 Sterling Silver from Mexico)
3. What was this small type of pitcher likely used for? It's about 8" tall, so seems too small for water, but larger than my mother's cream/milk pitcher that she had when I was growing up. It has a grape vine?/branch?/with a bunch of grapes on the handle.. was this piece meant to be a wine pitcher? It also seems small for that, as it probably only holds a couple glasses worth of wine. Info on if this type of grape design would indicate what the piece's use was for would be helpful but I can't find any info on this type of stuff.
I'm sorry this is a lot but it's been driving me crazy trying to find resources for this type of stuff so that I can just read info related to all the details and styles and be able to answer my own questions. The only resources I can find are related to Sterling Silver indication markings (such as the 925) and I'm looking for much more historical info about these pieces. I appreciate any help to answer these questions or even where I can research this kind of stuff for the future.
