www.925-1000.com

im having trouble identifying the maker of this Sterling basket. ive been all over google images and various other sites and have come up empty. Its marked STERLING and theres something? below that too me just look like random inclusions on the metal surface. thoughts?

Hi,
Hanau, Germany pseudo marks of Storck and Sinsheimer.
See here under their name:
https://www.925-1000.com/Fgerman_hanau_marks_01.html

Regards

so if got this right what i have is a piece produced in the middle to late 19th century German city of Hanua. the piece was meant to resemble older works and then stamped with fantasy marks. stamped STERLING indicates in was intended for export to Britain and American markets.


interesting bit of reading. thank you!

Hello, what I find irritating is that the oldlooking marks under the word STERLING do not look punched but cast. The word STERLING as a mark was rarely used in Germany before 1945. Which leads me to believe that what we have here is a quite modern cast replica of a Hanau piece. Such replicas often come from Asian countries. Regards, Bahner

The later Hanau fakes and 'copies' are always poor castings and sloppy looking, the details in this appear quite sharp. I've seen older pieces that were later marked STERLING probably by a dealer well after the fact in order to make it more saleable to less knowledgable buyers.

Hanau silversmiths were known exporters to Britain.When they met .925 sterling standard silver was properly marked with sponsor`s mark and British import marks (depending on assay office).Sterling word was rarely seen,though,but it did exist.
In this particular case,close inspection with 10X loupe could reveal if marks are cast,as well as poor detail in cast decor.
Regards

im not 100% sure but under a loop they appear to be cast. with the round mark on the right you can clearly see a distinction between the polished surface and the rough cast metal underneath.