ID? Late 19th/Early 20th: Circled "G D/H"

[RSK]

This piece is a little dish or ashtray, again, it was from the home of a Jewish businessman living in Mainz am Rhein until about 1930, and probably purchased in the 1920's, originally.

Aside from the crescent, crown and designation of 800 fine, the hallmark bears the word HANDARBEIT (and the piece does, indeed, appear to be hand-made, with deliberate hammer marks throughout), and then the device

G D
H

in a circle.

Below is a 1200-dpi scan of the hallmark (stamped in the center of the bottom of the piece), and a link to a 150-dpi image of the dish itself.



I got lucky with my last question...can anyone ID this piece for me?

(I also wouldn't mind knowing what you think it was meant for! It's a bit small for candy, and I cannot imagine putting out a cigarette butt in such a pretty object! It's a bit too large for a salt-cellar, I think. The major semi-axis is about 3� inches/10 cm; the minor semi-axis is about 3� inches/8 cm; it's about 1 cm deep.)



http://www.concentric.net/~rsk/Ag/dish1.jpg

[Bahner]

Hello, that is Gebrueder Dingeldein from Hanau. Mentioned (if I am not mistaken) as early as 1870 in the directories, still active in the 1930ies. Best wishes, Bahner

[RSK]

I am sitting here, with my mouth wide open, marvelling at your skill at recognizing these, and your vast knowledge of this subject!

Thank you so very much for identifying all three of the marks I wanted so quickly!

I'll have to look on a map for Hanau; I'm not sure where it is in relation to Mainz.

You're quite an expert on this, it is clear--and it is so kind of you to share your enthusiasm and thoroughness with a total naive like me!

[RSK]

I have had to move the images from my initial post to a new location:

http://home.earthlink.net/~rsk0/Ag/dish1.jpg